


You Keep Me Up

by Adsdragonlover



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Case Fic, Clubbing, Cunnilingus, F/F, Flirting, Fluff, Gavin is called Gwen, Gay, Gay Panic, Genderswap, Gwen Reed is a little shit, Homophobia, How many times can they almost kiss, Insomnia, Kidnapping, Mutual Pining, Oral Sex, RK900 is Nines, Smut, Stakeout, Undercover, and they were lesbians, everyone else is normal, gwen doesn’t get sleep, oh my god they were lesbians, reed900 are girls, soft, soft angst, wlw
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-02
Updated: 2020-10-16
Packaged: 2021-03-06 05:34:21
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 18,853
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25678180
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Adsdragonlover/pseuds/Adsdragonlover
Summary: Nines really has no concept of time, at least in Gwen's opinion. Whether it's waking her up for a case, or just being constantly insistent, Nines has both monopolized and terrorized all of her waking moments. And non-waking ones too. This is a problem, and the whole 'undercover' aspect of the case isn't fucking helping.Gwen's pretty sure she's not making out of this with her sanity.Aka, the fem!reed900 undercover case fic to fulfill all your wlw needs.
Relationships: Upgraded Connor | RK900/Gavin Reed
Comments: 55
Kudos: 56





	1. 2:27 AM, or Gwen Admits She Has a Problem

**Author's Note:**

> Hiya! It’s not super relevant in this chapter, like at all, but Gavin and Nines are the only genderswapped characters. Why didn’t I genderswap everyone? Well, one, I’m kind of lazy, and two, we all know that it’s (unfortunately) pretty unrealistic to have a police force almost entirely composed of women. Even for the future. We can’t all be she-ra. Anyway I hope you enjoy.

_ Knock knock knock.  _

Gwen groaned and turned over in bed, opening an eye and squinting at the alarm clock.  _ 2:27 AM _ . She groaned into her pillow. “Go away,” she muttered under her breath. 

The knocking didn’t listen, in fact, it continued with more ferocity. “Detective!” 

Gwen groaned. Nines. Of  _ course  _ it was fucking Nines. Who else would be knocking on her door at 2:30 in the morning?

“Detective, we were just assigned a case. You need to wake up,” came Nines’ voice from outside the apartment’s front door. 

Gwen whined and buried herself under the covers, stubbornly ignoring Nines. It was too early for this shit, and she was too tired. She barely got any sleep as it was, and now even that was being taken from her. She scoffed.  _ What a world.  _

Her phone rang loudly on her bedside table and she growled in frustration before she sat up and picked it up. “ _ What? _ ” She snapped. 

She heard Nines sigh on the other end of the line. “Detective, we’ve been assigned a case, you need to get up and come outside.”

Gwen rolled her eyes but stood up. “Why can’t it wait until morning?” she complained. 

“I’m not sure, feel free to file any complaints to Fowler.” Nines responded haughtily.  _ God _ , she was stuck up. 

Gwen whined and rubbed at her eyes. “Fuck off,” she growled. “I’m getting dressed. Don’t break into my apartment.”

“I make no promises,” came the smarmy reply before Gwen hung up. She yawned and rubbed at her eyes again before walking over to her closet. Taking off her sleepshirt, she tossed it in the hamper before grabbing a gray sports bra and putting that on. She picked out a pair of blue jeans at random and grabbed a red-orange long sleeve shirt with a v-neck. She pulled it on over her head and jumped into her jeans. Then she headed to the bathroom to put in her contacts when Nines’ knocking repeated, louder and insistent. 

“Sometime this year, Detective.” Gwen growled at the android’s voice coming through the door. 

“Fuck off!” She shouted, feeling only a little guilty about ruining her neighbors’ sleep as well. She shook her head and left the bathroom, deciding to just wear her glasses instead, pride be damned. She headed towards the front door, where she grabbed her leather jacket off of the coat rack. Slinging it on, she bent down to put on her combat boots. When she’d finished tying them she stood back up and grabbed her keys from the bowl. “Bye Pita, bye Frumpkin,” she said, waving goodbye to her cats. She ran a quick hand through her short messy hair in an attempt to style it before opening the door with a scowl. 

“There. I’m ready. Happy now?” she asked with a glare. 

Nines clasped her hands behind her back and looked down at Gwen with icy blue eyes. “Not quite, but I’ll suppose it’ll have to do.”

Gwen rolled her eyes and pushed past Nines, turning around to lock her door behind her. “You’re a bitch.”

“It takes one to know one, Detective.” Nines said, and despite not looking, Gwen could  _ hear  _ the other woman smirking. 

“Yeah yeah, shut the fuck up.” She grumbled, too tired to put any real effort into banter. “Let’s go, tin can.” Gwen said with a long suffering sigh. “Might as well get this over with so I can go the fuck back to sleep.”

Nines smirked. “Follow me, Detective.” She said, leading them out of the apartment building and to Gwen’s car. 

Gwen snorted. “‘Follow me’, she says, then expects  _ me  _ to drive.” 

Nines held her hand out to take Gwen’s keys. “I can drive if you’d prefer,” she offered. 

Gwen kept her keys pressed close to her chest with a glare. “Over my dead body,” she hissed. 

Nines raised an eyebrow. “In your current state, driving would not be advisable.”

Gwen folded her arms over her chest defensively. “The fuck’s that supposed to mean?” 

Nines sighed. “It means you’re tired. Driving in such a state would not be wise.”

Gwen glared at Nines. “Yeah, and who’s fault is that?” she demanded. 

Nines shook her head. “Just let me drive, please.” 

Gwen eyed her warily before sighing in defeat. “Fine. But only because I’m too tired to argue.” She said, tossing the android her keys. She tried to tell herself she wasn’t disappointed when Nines caught them easily. She turned to get in the car and sent Nines a glare when it wouldn’t open. “Nines.”

Nines smirked. “What?” She asked in mock innocence. 

“Unlock the fuckin car door.” Gwen said with a tired sigh. 

Nines tsked. “Is that any way to ask politely?” She asked, tilting her head in the way that Gwen usually found infuriatingly endearing, but now she just found it infuriating in  _ general. _

Gwen ground her teeth together. “Nines, unlock the fuckin car door.” Nines blinked at her with a ‘go on’ expression. Gwen growled under her breath. “Unlock the fucking car door… please.” 

Nines let out a satisfied hum and the car doors unlocked. Gwen got inside quickly and closed the door behind her carefully, despite wanting to slam it, her car didn’t deserve that. Nines got into the driver seat and made a noise of displeasure at having to adjust the car seat position back to make room for her long legs. “You’re so short,” she commented idly. 

“Fuck  _ off, _ ” Gwen snapped. “Not all of us can be Amazonian warriors like you.” She said, “And you weren’t even born that way, you were designed. You could’ve been the same height as I am, asshat.” She growled. “And 5’4” is average.”

Nines hummed noncommittally. “I suppose so.”

“And what the fuck was that about?” Gwen asked, buckling her seatbelt and crossing her arms irritatedly. 

“What was what about?” Nines asked innocently as they pulled out of the parking lot. 

“Don’t play dumb, Nines. Not unlocking the fuckin car door. I thought we were in a hurry.”

“Oh we are,” Nines affirmed. 

“Then what the fuck was that little stunt for?” Gwen demanded, voice raising in her irritation. 

Nines smirked. “There’s never a wrong time to try and teach Gwendolyn Reed manners,” she responded coolly. 

Gwen sputtered indignantly, face going red. “Wha-?  _ Manners!  _ Bitch, it’s  _ my  _ car! You were the one being rude by not unlocking it in the first place!”

Nines hummed and brushed a strand of long dark hair out of her eyes. “Perhaps.”

“ _ Perhaps. _ ” Gwen mocked in a baby voice. “You  _ were.  _ No one  _ asks  _ to have car doors unlocked, you just unlock them. You especially don’t ask when it’s  _ your fucking car _ !” She was shouting, voice loud in the enclosed space.

Nines only fucking  _ smirked. _ “I suppose that’s a valid argument.”

Gwen scoffed. “Fuck you,” she groaned. 

“You’d like that, wouldn’t you?” Nines teased. 

Gwen groaned, and her face went red. “ _ Fuck. Off _ .”

Nines chuckled lowly, and Gwen dutifully ignored how the sound made her feel. 

Then Nines turned on fucking  _ classical  _ music and the warm feeling curling up in Gwen’s gut turned to distaste. “Ugh. Nines, turn that shit off. Let’s play  _ actual  _ music.”

Nines smirked. “I believe there’s a pop culture saying that suits this quite well. ‘Driver picks the music, shotgun shuts his cake hole.’” 

Gwen gaped at her. “Did you just fuckin quote  _ Supernatural  _ at me?” she asked, incredulous. 

“Yes, I di-”

“That’s beside the point. The point is that it’s still  _ my  _ car!” Gwen shouted again. At least there were no neighbors to wake up from this. 

“Well I’m still driving,” Nines said smugly. “So shut your cake hole.” 

Gwen huffed and crossed her arms over her chest. “Fuck you,” She repeated. In the morning she’d have more words for this  _ bullshit _ but right now, she was tired. 

Nines’ plan backfired however, because by the time they’d reached the crime scene, the classical music had made Gwen even more tired.   


Gwen blearily rubbed at her eyes and yawned as they approached the body. 

She was laying on the concrete of the alley, long red hair spread out under the concrete, her blue eyes glazed over and glossy. Not to mention the nose bleed and obvious signs of a red ice overdose. Gwen whistled lowly. “Alright. Who is she?” she asked. 

Nines knelt down next to the body, and started to scan her. “Her name was Allison Rose, known as ‘Allie’.” Nines’ gaze went unfocused as she went over the details. “She was twenty, and was a student at Macomb Community College. According to our records, she’s been missing for a while, a missing persons report was filed for her a month ago.” 

Gwen hummed and knelt down as well. “What about these?” She asked, pointing out the bruises on her neck and wrists. “She obviously overdosed, but she doesn’t look like a frequent flyer, and those bruises seem purposeful.” 

Allison really didn’t. She was pretty and young, and wore a purple cocktail dress with her well done makeup. 

“I’m not sure about the bruises.” Nines said, “But I can figure out whether this was her first time.” Then she put two fingers in the dried blood coming from the girl’s nose to analyze it. Gwen looked away. That would never  _ not  _ be gross. “You’re right,” Nines said. “She’s a first time user.” 

Gwen hummed thoughtfully. “That doesn’t make much sense though. First time users don’t normally overdose. You don’t take a lot of that shit if it’s your first time trying it.”

“Detective,” Nines said. “According to my analysis, the amount of red ice in her system is three times larger than the necessary amount to overdose.”

Gwen narrowed her eyes. “So this was done on purpose.” She shook her head before looking at her wrists again. “Hey, Nines?” 

“Yes, Detective?”

“What’s on her wristband?” She asked, it was one of those paper ones, but it was too faded for Gwen to make out the words. 

“It’s an entry wristband for a nearby nightclub; The Shade.” Nines responded. 

Gwen raised an eyebrow. “Well then, we’ll have to check it out. For now though? I think we’re done for the night.” She stood back up with a yawn. “Come on, tin can.” She gave a lazy two-fingered salute to the officer who’d found the body before heading back to her car, with Nines trailing behind her. 

“Alrighty.” She said. “You’re gonna drive me home. And imma try to sleep on the way despite the potholes.” Gwen said, getting in the car. 

Nines chuckled lowly. “If you insist.” She agreed, turning on the engine and driving off. Gwen’s eyes closed to classical music. 

Then the next thing Gwen knew there were arms around her waist and she was being lifted out of the car. She opened her eyes blearily and let out a very undignified squeak when she saw who it was. “Nines!” She shouted. “What the  _ actual  _ fuck are you doing?”

Nines flushed a light blue, which accentuated her cheekbones nicely. “I was going to carry you to your apartment.” 

Gwen scowled, face red. “Well, don’t. Put me down.”

Nines smiled. “Are you sure? You look pretty comfortable.” She was teasing her, Gwen knew it. 

Gwen swatted her on the arm, wincing at the feeling that left on her hand. “Yes, I’m sure. Put me down, tin can.” She said, hiding her face in her hands. 

Nines did as asked and set her down. Gwen glared half-heartedly at Nines. In truth, it was actually pretty comfortable and she kind of enjoyed being in Nines’ arms. Not that she’d ever admit that out loud.

Gwen yawned and headed inside the apartment building before heading to the elevator with Nines trailing behind. “You don’t have to follow me,” she said. 

“I know.” Nines said coolly. “Just want to make sure you don’t pass out before you get there.” She said. 

Gwen rolled her eyes. “Ha ha, very funny.”

“Yes, I thought so.” Nines said, following Gwen inside the elevator as it opened. “I like your glasses by the way.” She said, and Gwen sent her a disbelieving expression while she pressed the button for the fourth floor. “You look very cute.”

Gwen blushed a dark red at Nines’ words and sputtered indignantly. “Wha-? I’m- I am  _ not  _ cute.” 

Nines hummed. “That’s not how it looks to me,” she said slyly. 

Gwen groaned and hid her face in her hands. “Why are you being so flirty?”  _ Does it mean anything to you? _

Nines shrugged. “Why not?” She responded, and Gwen’s heart sank a little. 

“Oh. Right. Ok.” She said, sounding a little hoarse. She faked a yawn in an attempt to cover up the hurt she hoped wasn’t audible in her voice. 

Then the elevator reached the fourth floor with a ding, sending Gwen instant relief from the conversation. “Right!” she said. “Well uh, nice y’all but I’m really fuckin tired, so I’m gonna head to bed. Thanks for uh, walking me here.” 

Nines frowned, “I had planned to escort you to your apartment, not just to the level your apartment is on.”

Gwen laughed awkwardly. “Yeah, but uh. You don’t need to. I’ll be fine, really.”

“But, I  _ want  _ to.” Nines said and god _ damnit _ this android was too cute. She couldn’t say no.

So Gwen sighed in defeat. “Sure. Do whatever you want then.” 

Nines nodded. “I plan on it,” she said, stepping out of the elevator and following Gwen to her apartment, number twenty three. 

Gwen stopped outside of the door and pulled out her keys, putting them in the lock and unlocking the door. “Uh,” she started, turning around, “thanks I-” She froze mid sentence. 

Nines was staring at her. Not with her ‘ _ I’m scanning you _ ’ stare, but with a soft expression. Her hand hovered in midair, halfway to Gwen as if reaching out to touch her. “Uh,” Gwen said eloquently, like a total dumbass. 

Nines smiled softly at Gwen and her hand moved to rest lightly on Gwen’s arm. She took a step closer, into Gwen’s space, and for a moment, for one  _ glorious  _ moment, Gwen thought Nines was going to kiss her. She could’ve  _ sworn  _ she saw Nines’ gaze flit down to her lips before looking back up at her face. 

But she didn’t. Her LED stayed yellow and Nines swallowed, an unnecessary action she’d picked up as a nervous tick. No, she didn’t kiss Gwen. She just smiled softly at her and murmured, “Have a good night, Gwen.” Gwen’s breath caught in her throat. Was her heartbeat audible to Nines too? Cause it  _ pounded _ in Gwen’s ears. “Sleep well.” 

And then she was stepping back, out of Gwen’s bubble. Her hand pulled away and moved to rest behind her back with her other hand. She nodded at Gwen before she turned around and walked away. 

Gwen let out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding and turned back to the door, opening it with hands she noticed, belatedly, were shaking. She went inside and closed the door behind her, locking it before she buried her face in her hands with a muffled groan. “Oh good lord.”

Frumpkin approached with a loud meow. “Hey, buddy,” she said, kneeling down to pet him. “I- I think I have a problem.” She admitted quietly. Frumpkin didn’t respond, he just purred and butted his head against her hand. 

Gwen chuckled and stood back up. She put her keys away and headed to her bedroom, taking off her glasses and putting them on the bedside table. She changed into pajamas and got in bed. 

Staring up at the ceiling, Gwen did her best to go back to sleep and not think about Nines. She wasn’t going to think about how badly she wished Nines had kissed her. Definitely not. 

Gwen didn’t get any sleep for the rest of that night. 


	2. Gwen Gets Burned

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (Emotionally and physically)

The next morning came too quickly.

Soon, it was six AM and Gwen had to get out of bed and get ready for work. 

She yawned and stretched, rubbing at her eyes. Blearily, she made her way to the bathroom and put in her contacts. Then she went back to the bedroom to put on some clothes. 

She grabbed a rust colored v-neck from her closet and pulled it on with some dark wash jeans. Then she grabbed her jacket and went back into the bathroom to brush her teeth and put on deodorant. 

Gwen headed to the kitchen and put a bagel in the toaster while she made herself a cup of coffee from her coffee machine. It finished brewing just as the bagel popped up. She grabbed it and cursed loudly when it burned her fingers, dropping it on the kitchen counter. “ _ Shit! _ ” She hissed, mentally cursing her own dumbassery. That was  _ not  _ the first time it had happened. She gingerly picked up the bagel using what she could of her short fingernails and put it on a plate. 

Then she poured herself some coffee and took a sip without waiting for it to cool down. Again, dumbass. She hissed as it burned her tongue. Today had barely started and already it was shit. 

She didn’t count earlier in the morning as “today” cause that would just make it worse. “Stupid fucking android looking all pretty and making me  _ feel  _ things. What a bitch,” she grumbled under her breath as she scarfed down her still too hot bagel. She was just going to have to suffer. 

She looked at the time and cursed. She was gonna be late if she didn’t move her ass and leave  _ now.  _ Which meant she didn’t have time to finish her coffee. “Fuckin  _ perfect _ ,” Gwen growled as she made her way to the pantry. 

Quickly, she grabbed the cat food and put it in their bowls. “Eat up you devils,” she said, smiling a little at them as they rushed to the food like they’d been starved. Which they weren’t. She spoiled them and they knew it. 

Satisfied, she put on her shoes quickly, grabbed her keys, blew her cats a kiss, and headed out the door, making sure to lock it behind her. 

She groaned as she headed quickly down the stairs, she didn’t have time to use the elevator. 

She got to her car in record time and hastily got in before heading off to work. She might’ve been driving ten miles over the speed limit, but she could  _ not  _ be late or Fowler’d have her ass on a platter. 

Soon she was pulling into the DPD parking lot and turning off the car before she rushed to the building. Gwen nodded at Rachel, the receptionist android and headed into the bullpen. 

Nines was waiting at their desks, standing with her hands clasped neatly behind her back. 

“Good morning, Detective,” she said. “You were almost late.”

Gwen growled. “Yeah, but I  _ wasn’t _ so fuck off. I’m  _ never  _ late, and today isn’t the exception.”

Nines tilted her head to the side and Gwen  _ hated  _ it. Hated how cute she thought the little motion was. She hated how it sent butterflies to her stomach. She scowled at Nines, irritated by her own feelings. “Lucky you,” Nines said cooly. “I’m sure being late would ruin your morning.”

Gwen scoffed. “Bitch, you thought. My morning’s already ruined, thank you very much.” She grumbled, running a hand through her messy brown pixie cut. 

Nines frowned and looked Gwen up and down, and her eyes were slightly glazed over in the way that Gwen  _ knew  _ meant she was being scanned. “Detective, your caffeine levels are lower than normal. I would be proud, but it seems to have negatively affected your mood.”

Gwen growled and crossed her arms over her chest, sitting down at her desk with a scoff. “No shit, Sherlock.” 

“Additionally, you’ve burned yourself. Probably on breakfast you didn’t wait to cool off.” 

Gwen felt her hackles raise. “What the  _ fuck  _ have I told you about scanning me?” She hissed, glaring up at Nines, who was even taller from her seat in the chair. 

“And what have  _ I  _ told you about it being a function I can’t turn off?” Nines’s shot back. 

Gwen rolled her eyes. “Then just look away,  _ christ. _ ” She put her hands on her temples and massaged them lightly. She could feel the start of a headache coming on. Stupid stress. She shut her eyes tightly and took a deep breath. “Just shut up for  _ three  _ minutes, please,” she muttered. 

Surprisingly, there was no sarcastic response. She looked up to see that Nines was no longer at their desks. She shrugged. Not her problem right now. She turned on the computer and did her best to remember what the club named on the wristband was called. 

She was broken out of her struggle to remember something she was half-asleep to witness by the soft but distinctive sound of a coffee mug being placed on her desk. Gwen looked up and there she was. Nines, looming over her like a coffee angel to save her from withdrawals. 

Gwen frowned and took the coffee suspiciously. “What the fuck?” She muttered. “You  _ never  _ bring me coffee.” Not since the first time they’d met, at least. 

She’d ordered Nines to bring her a coffee. She had, but she’d dumped it over Gwen’s head as soon as she was in range. They definitely hadn’t started off on good terms. 

Nines hummed. “There are always exceptions. And I figured it’d improve your mood and the oncoming headache.”

Gwen frowned and raised the mug up to sniff at it carefully. “You didn’t tamper with it, did you? Put salt instead of sugar or some shit? Or poison it?”

Nines chuckled and shook her head. “No, Detective. If I wanted you dead, trust that you would be, and no one would have any idea who was responsible.” Gwen shivered. She  _ really  _ shouldn’t have found that statement as hot as she did. “Additionally, I’d like to improve your mood, not worsen it. So no, it’s not tampered with. I made it according to your tastes as well.”

Gwen sent her a suspicious look before she cautiously took a sip. Holy shit. “That- how’d you manage to make  _ DPD  _ coffee taste good?” She asked incredulously. 

Nines smirked. “I’d tell you my secret, but then I’d have to kill you.” Then she  _ winked  _ at Gwen. 

Holy  _ shit _ . Gwen’s face turned red and she looked away quickly as her heart pounded in her chest. ‘ _ Shit shit shit shit shit, _ ’ she chanted internally. ‘ _ Fuck. No, please. I can’t- I’m not allowed to catch feelings. Pull yourself together, Gwen. _ ’ 

She could feel Nines frowning at her, and she  _ knew  _ Nines didn’t miss the way her heart raced. But she stubbornly ignored it. 

“Alright. Remind me again what the club on the wristband was called?” She asked, taking a sip of her coffee. 

“The Shade.”

“Right. Gotcha.” Gwen said, quickly pulling it up on the website. “They’re a decently new place. Only been open six months,” she whistled lowly. “They’re pretty popular despite it.” She hummed thoughtfully before she looked up at Nines with a grin. “You thinking what I’m thinking?” She asked. 

“Stakeout-”

“-Undercover”

They both stopped. “ _ Stakeout. _ ” Nines repeated. 

Gwen scoffed. “What for? Why do we need to watch the place?”

“Why do we need to go undercover? We’re just checking it out,” Nines shot back. 

Gwen groaned, why couldn’t Nines just listen for once instead of arguing? “Fine. We’ll just check it out. But we really don’t need to stake the place.” 

“Maybe not yet,” Nines responded. 

Gwen frowned. “Whatever,” she said. “We do need to check it out though. Case the joint.”

“I agree. Tonight?”

“Yeah, that sounds good.” Gwen agreed with a nod. “You can’t show up dressed like that though.”

Nines rolled her eyes. “Obviously not.”

Gwen grinned at her. “Do you even own anything other than that outfit?” Nines hesitated. “Oh my god you  _ don’t! _ ” Gwen cackled. “Alright, I'm taking you out.” Nines raised an eyebrow and Gwen turned red. “Not like that. I’m taking you to buy clothes. After our shift.” 

Nines hummed. “Alright,” she agreed. “I’m amenable to that.”

Gwen chuckled. “Who the fuck says that?”

Nines rolled her eyes. “I do, Detective. Do you really need to insult me at every moment?”

Gwen laughed. “Are you implying that you can’t handle a little teasing?” 

Nines raised one perfectly manicured eyebrow. “Of course not. I’m merely implying that you could afford to be a little nicer.”

Gwen barked out a laugh. “You’d barely recognize me if I acted nice.”

“On the contrary, Detective,” Nines began softly, “I think I’d know you anywhere.”

Gwen shivered. Something about those words and the way Nines had said them made her feel… odd. It almost sounded like Nines wanted her, or at least  _ liked  _ her. But that couldn’t be right. They weren’t even friends. Right? “Um, alright. Cool.” She said awkwardly. “So, after work?” she asked. 

“Yes,” Nines confirmed. “Then we’ll be at the club when it opens at eight.” 

Gwen nodded. “Ok. Cool.” She turned back to her work, and she could feel Nines’ eyes on her. She held back an instinctual shiver at being under that gaze. 

It was going to be a long shift.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Please leave kudos and a comment. Please. 🥺 And maybe share this fic too? There’s not enough wlw content in this fandom and I want lots of people to get to read it. It also fuels my inspiration. Chapter 3 is almost done and will be posted sometime next week. 
> 
> Also! Chapter 3 will be in Nines’ point of view so get hyped.


	3. Thrift Shop

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They go shopping and some things are revealed about Gwen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is from Nines’ POV

“Ready to go, Detective?” Nines asked Gwen, keeping her voice carefully neutral as always. She was excited, but she didn’t really want it to show. 

Gwen rolled her eyes. “Yeah, gimme a minute.” 

Nines smirked. “I’ll start a timer, Detective.”

Gwen groaned and Nines bit back a laugh. Teasing Gwen was so enjoyable. “You’re such a shit,” she complained. 

“Takes one to know one, Detective.” Nines responded cheekily, fighting back a smile at their banter. 

Gwen sighed. “Touché,” she muttered. 

Nines considered that a win. 

Gwen finished packing and stood up, stretching her arms above her head in a way that lifted her shirt up so a sliver of the tanned skin of her stomach was visible. 

**[^^Software Instability]**

Nines quickly tore her eyes away from the sight as Gwen looked up at her. “Okay, I’m ready,” she said. 

Nines nodded. “Alright, let’s go then, Detective,” she said, heading out of the bullpen and out of the building.   
  


They headed to Gwen’s car and Gwen quickly shook her head when Nines held her hand out to take her keys. “No way, tin can. You’re not driving.”

“I drove this morning,” Nines pointed out. 

“Yeah, because I was too tired to argue with you. I’m not having you drive my car.” Nines felt a little hurt that that was the reason. 

“I drove well though,” she pointed out, “haven’t I earned your trust enough to drive it? You’d trust me with your life, but not with your car?” Nines tried to reason. 

Gwen sent Nines a flat look. “Yeah, because I care more about my car than I do myself.” The words were like a slap, and Nines’ LED turned briefly red before shifting to yellow as she tried to process that. “Besides, you don’t know where we’re going.”

“You don’t value your own life?” Nines asked quietly. 

Gwen groaned and unlocked the car, getting in the driver’s seat. Nines sighed and accepted that she wasn’t going to win this fight and got in as well.

The first five minutes of the drive were spent in a tense silence before Gwen finally spoke up. 

“It’s not that I don’t value my life. I’m not suicidal, Nines,” she muttered. 

Nines couldn’t quite describe the feeling of relief that flooded her system at those words. “Then, why do you care more about your car than yourself?” she asked quietly. 

Gwen gritted her teeth. “It doesn’t matter. The reason will probably, I dunno, irritate you or something. Bore you maybe.”

Nines felt a little hurt by that assumption. “Learning more about you would never bore me,” she said quietly. 

Gwen was silent for two minutes and thirteen seconds before she sighed. “It- this was my Mom’s car,” she said quietly, and Nines was struck by how vulnerable she sounded in that moment. “It’s one of the last things I have of hers. I- I don’t really trust anyone else to drive it. I barely trust myself to do it.” 

Nines was stunned silent and Gwen chuckled softly, with an undercurrent of bitterness to it. “You’re speechless. Told you it’d bore you.”

Nines’ eyes widened and she shook her head quickly. “No. No, that’s not it at all. I- I’m glad you told me. I- I appreciate you putting your trust in me, enough to tell me something so personal.”

Gwen shifted awkwardly in her seat. “Yeah, well. Don’t read too much into it,” she muttered. 

Nines smiled softly, not fighting it this time. They were alone, what was the point? “I make no promises,” she murmured. 

Gwen didn’t respond, but her heart rate did go up, and the tips of her ears turned red. 

The rest of their drive was spent in comfortable silence. 

Soon they pulled into the parking lot of a small strip mall. “Alright,” Gwen said. “Let’s go.”

Nines hummed thoughtfully and unbuckled her seatbelt, getting out of the car. She scanned the buildings, and frowned. A florist, a music store, a Subway that would undoubtedly go out of business soon, a small business thrift store, a bakery, and a pawn shop. 

Logically, the thrift store would be where they were going, but it confused Nines slightly. “Amethyst Thrift?” Nines asked. 

Gwen stiffened a little as they started walking through the parking lot. “Yeah, it’s a thrift shop. Is there a problem with that?” she asked. 

Nines quickly shook her head. “No. Not at all, I just wasn’t expecting it,” she paused. “Though, knowing you, I probably should have.”

Gwen glared at her. “What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” she accused. 

“Nothing as bad as you think it does. I’m not trying to imply anything unsavory. Only that I should’ve expected you to frequent small business thrift stores with your dislike of capitalism and big businesses.” 

Her response relaxed Gwen’s tense posture slightly. Mission successful. 

However, “Also you do dress like you went dumpster diving for your clothes,” she teased. 

Thankfully, Gwen saw it as the joke it was and laughed. “Hardy har har, very funny.” She said, rolling her eyes. 

Nines opened the door and held it open for Gwen. “Age before beauty,” she teased. 

Gwen just flipped her off in response and Nines chuckled softly. 

“Alright,” Gwen said. “We’re going clubbing, so we gotta make you look the part.” 

“Oh? Care to enlighten me as to how?” Nines teased. 

Gwen grinned. “You’ll see. Come on, grab a cart.”

“You can’t tell me what to do,” Nines joked as she went and grabbed a cart. 

Gwen raised an eyebrow. “You’re being unusually funny.”

“I’m always funny, you’re just too dumb to laugh.”

Gwen’s eyes widened and she sputtered. “You’re proving my point, Nines! What the fuck was that? Like, you’ve always been sassy, but now you’re  _ smiling _ . You never smile, you only ever smirk. Who are you and what have you done to my partner?” she accused. 

Nines chuckled, and she didn’t miss the way the sound made Gwen’s heart rate go up. “You and I have never interacted outside of work before. It’s possible that the ‘Nines’ you know is just how I act at work.”

Gwen paused and frowned up at her. “That- I-“ she huffed. “That’s stupid,” Nines’ thirium pump felt like it was sinking until, “why don’t you just be yourself at work?”

“Professionalism. Additionally, I have an appearance to uphold. As do you.”

Gwen raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

Nines shook her head with a chuckle. “You and I both know you’re more than just the asshole of the DPD. Most of that is just for appearances’ sake.” 

Gwen bristled. “And how would you know that?” she accused. 

Nines shrugged. “I don’t. Not for sure. It’s an educated guess. But my educated guesses are usually correct and, personally?” she started. “I’d really enjoy getting to know the  _ real  _ Gwendolyn Reed.”

Gwen turned a lovely shade of pink at her words and looked away quickly, clearing her throat. “Yeah, well, um,” she started. “I- I guess I wouldn’t mind getting to know the real you either,” she mumbled. 

Nines grinned and considered that a victory. 

Nines followed behind Gwen as she led them through the store, stopping at the shirts. “You’re probably a large. I’m usually a small or a medium, depends on the shirt.” She said with a shrug, sending Nines a cheeky grin that made her thirium pump stutter in her chest. “Since it’s a club, I’m thinking either a dress or a crop top of some sort.”

Nines nodded, though she didn’t really understand. “That sounds reasonable,” she agreed. 

“Damn right.” Gwen went through shirts very quickly and if the tongue poking slightly out of her mouth was any indication, she was very focused. 

Nines attempted to help at one point but Gwen swatted her hand out of the way. “Let me take care of this. No offense, but you have zero sense of style. Just- trust me on this, tin can, okay?”

Nines sighed and nodded. “Alright.”

Gwen grinned at her. “Thanks,” then she went back to her search. 

Soon there was a veritable pile of clothes in the cart, shirts, skirts, shorts, dresses, jackets, and pants. “Alright,” she said, satisfied. “Let’s go to the dressing room.”

Gwen grabbed Nines by the arm and dragged her towards the dressing room. The contact caused a wave of system errors to flood Nines’ HUD. Excessive heat warnings, thirium pump malfunctions and blush program activation notifications. It was honestly irritating how much a single touch affected Nines, even without skin on skin contact.   
  


“Okay,” Gwen said once she’d finished marching Nines over to the dressing room. She rifled through the pile in the cart until she had a smaller pile in her arms. “Try these on.”

Nines nodded, took the clothes, and headed into the dressing room. 

She stripped out of her Cyberlife uniform carefully, folding her clothes neatly and putting them on the bench. 

She turned around to grab the first article of clothing when her reflection caught her eye and she paused to look at herself. 

She was just standing there, in her white Cyberlife sports bra and matching underwear. Her long dark hair still pulled up in a bun atop her head. She tilted her head slightly and turned a little, looking herself over. 

“We don’t have all day, Tin Can!” Came Gwen’s voice, snapping Nines out of her stupor. She blushed automatically and started putting on the first outfit. Dark, high-waisted pants and a shimmery silver crop top with long sleeves. 

She came out of the dressing room and walked over to Gwen, who looked up from her phone at her. She did a double take at the sight. “I-  _ wow. _ ”

Nines grinned. “I take it that means you like it?”

Gwen nodded dumbly. “I mean, you’re  _ you _ , so you could probably pull anything off, but.  _ Damn _ . I’m just not sure it’s right for the club. At least not when we’re trying to blend in. That’s pretty flashy.” Her eyes widened and she quickly backtracked. “If you like it though you should get it! I’m not trying to tell you what to do.”

Nines laughed and shook her head. “No, Detective. I appreciate your input. You have more experience with this than I do.” 

Gwen cleared her throat and nodded awkwardly. “Yeah, uh. Go ahead and try something else on.”

Nines nodded and turned around, heading back to do so. This time she picked out a dress, it was honestly pretty short on her, but they  _ were  _ going to a club, so she supposed that was normal. It was a pale blue, with off the shoulder straps, a sweetheart neckline and it faded to a darker blue the closer it got to the bottom. It was really quite lovely. 

Nines came back out and Gwen grinned. “Looking good, hot stuff,” she said. “I mean, objectively. But like, also obviously, you’re practically a model I just- I’m going to shut up now.”

Nines chuckled fondly. “You’re cute when you ramble.”

Gwen glared at her, and she turned a pretty shade of pink. “Shut up, no I’m not,” she muttered, flipping Nines off. 

Nines laughed and did a little spin. “Do you like it?”

Gwen groaned and ran her hands down her face. “Fuck.  _ Yes _ , I like it,” she bit out. “Happy now?”

Nines grinned. “Very much so,” she purred, and her grin widened as Gwen blushed darker. 

“Alright, whatever. Next one.”

The next one was a short sleeved white crop top that tied into a knot in the front and a black with white flowers patterned pencil skirt with a slit in the leg. 

She came back out and grinned at Gwen’s reaction. Her heart rate rose, her pupils dilated, her breathing quickened, she blushed darker, and she shifted uncomfortably in her seat. 

Gwen was aroused.

“Do you like this one too?” Nines asked, already knowing the answer. 

Gwen sputtered. “I- uh- I mean,” she cleared her throat awkwardly. “Yeah. Yeah, I like it. It looks good on you.” 

Nines grinned and spun around. “Thank you. I like it too. Is it good enough to wear to the club?” she asked. 

Gwen nodded. “Yeah, Nines. It’s definitely good enough.” 

“What are you going to wear?” she asked. 

Gwen regained her composure enough to grin. “You’ll just have to wait and find out.”

Nines laughed and headed back into the dressing room, changing out of that outfit. She paused and looked herself over in the mirror again. She  _ was  _ attractive. She was designed to be. That was probably all there was to Gwen’s arousal. Nines was attractive and Gwen was a lesbian. That’s all there was to it.    
  


In the end, they bought those three outfits as well as some casual clothes for Nines, which mostly consisted of turtlenecks and slacks. It made Gwen roll her eyes. She’d tried to buy the clothes for Nines but Nines hadn’t let her. 

“Alright,” Gwen said as they left the thrift store. “We’ll both go home and get changed then I’ll come pick you up by 7:30. Sound good?”

Nines nodded. “Yes, Detective,” she agreed. Then she frowned. They’d gotten to the car, but Gwen made no move to unlock it and get in. “Detective?”

Gwen shook her head. “Sorry. I uh- just-” she chuckled. “You, you can call me Gwen. When we’re not at work.”

Nines blinked, taken aback. “I- thank you, Gwen.”

The tips of Gwen’s ears turned red. “Yeah yeah. Don’t read into it,” she still didn’t go to unlock the car. She sighed and walked around the car to where Nines was and got very close. 

“Gwen?” She asked, confused, as her thirium pump hammered in her chest. 

Gwen stared up at her for a moment before she took Nines’ hand. Her pump skipped a beat. Then Gwen put her keys in her hand. “I uh- I don’t know where you live. So- you can drive. I-” she hesitated and looked away, face red. “I trust you.” 

Then Gwen seemed to realize that her hand was still lingering atop Nines’, which was all Nines could focus on at the moment, and she quickly pulled her hand away. “Yeah so uh, get on the driver’s side.”

Nines snapped out of her stupor then. “Thank you, Gwen,” she said, looking her in the eyes for longer than was strictly necessary or appropriate. The longer she stared, the more she felt she was about to do…  _ something _ . But before she could, Gwen looked away. The moment shattered, and with it went Nines’ fleeting plans of kissing the detective.

Nines sighed and got in on the driver’s side. She started the car and pulled out of the parking lot to head to her apartment. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked it! The next chapter has art! As always, kudos make me happy and comments feed my soooooul. 🥺👉👈
> 
> Me: shamelessly quotes DE
> 
> Gwen: looking good hot stuff  
> Nines: but she doesn’t like me like /that/  
> My beta reader: gaaaaaaay


	4. All’s Fair in Clubbing and Flirting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nines and Gwen go and case The Shade. And flirt a LOT.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: This chapter does contain the f-slur and the d-slur. If that makes you uncomfortable stop reading after the “Gwen had turned red and sputtered, embarrassed.“ paragraph and continue at “She couldn’t do it.” (I also put large paragraph breaks around that part to skip over). The part after that is pretty self-explanatory as to what happened without going into detail, but if you need more information there will be a brief summary of what happened in the end notes.
> 
> Additionally there is a brief moment of sexual harassment (someone gropes Gwen) but it’s doesn’t last very long and he does get what he deserves. 
> 
> Please stay safe and skip over anything that might trigger you when reading.
> 
> With that out of the way, please enjoy! And there is art in this chapter!

Gwen watched Nines head into her apartment with a weird feeling in her stomach. 

Why did it always feel like something was going to  _ happen  _ between them when they were alone? 

Wishful thinking, probably. 

She sighed and moved over to the driver’s side so she could drive home. 

* * *

She went inside her apartment with a sigh, kneeling down to pet her cats. “She’s too pretty.”

Frumpkin meowed at her and butted his head against her hand for more pets. Gwen sighed. “You’re right. I just need to get over it. Nothing’s ever gonna come out of it, anyway.” She reached over and pet Pita as well, scratching under his ears as he started to purr. 

She stood back up and put her keys in the bowl on the table before she headed to her bedroom to get changed. 

It’s not like this was the first time Gwen had developed a crush on a coworker. She’d crushed on nearly every female coworker at one point. Marie Richardson, Hank’s old partner who transferred to a different department; Lisa Hardy, the beat cop who’d died in a shootout; Carly King, the sassy queen in forensics; hell, she’d even crushed on Tina at one point. For the most part, nothing good ever came out of them, Marie was straight and completely oblivious to Gwen’s existence, much like Hank was at the time. Lisa had died before Gwen could ever say anything. Gwen and Carly had a fling or two, but nothing serious came out of it. She’d kissed Tina once and they’d both realized that they were  _ definitely  _ better off as friends. 

And then there was Angie. Angela Ruiz was Gwen’s first partner after she’d been promoted to Detective. She was a sarcastic latina woman with long black hair that she almost always had braided up into a bun, skin the color of warm caramel and dark-chocolate colored eyes that crinkled in the corners when she laughed or smiled. She had a beauty mark just below her right eye and a dimple on her left cheek whenever she’d smile. She was smart, funny, witty, and tough as nails. Gwen wasn’t the only one who’d crushed on her, but Gwen  _ was  _ the one who’d fucked up and fallen in love. 

The thing was, Gwen was a detective. She was good at noticing things, picking up on social cues, and reading between the lines. She had to be, it was her job. So she’d been confident that Angie felt the same. Gwen had noticed all the fond smiles, secret glances, small excuses to touch each other, and the easy camaraderie and affection between them. She had been  _ so  _ sure that those things meant that Angie felt the same, that she hadn’t even  _ considered  _ the possibility that she might be wrong. 

She was wrong. The two of them were at a stakeout one night and Gwen had gotten pretty tired, and before she’d known what she was doing, she’d fallen asleep with her head on Angie’s shoulder. When she’d woken up, Angie was running her fingers through Gwen’s (at the time) long hair. Gwen had looked up at her then, and the dam had burst. And she’d surged up to kiss Angie.

Angie had frozen for a moment before she roughly shoved Gwen away. “What the fuck are you doing?” she’d shouted. 

Gwen had turned red and sputtered, embarrassed. “I- I just thought- you- you always seemed so-“  
  


“ _ Interested? _ ” Angie had laughed, but it was cruel this time, and Gwen hated the sound. “Why would you think I’d be interested in a  _ fag _ ?” She’d shaken her head and sneered at Gwen. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

Gwen had gaped at her. “A- a what?” she asked, dumbstruck that Angie would say something like that. She’d never seemed bigoted or hateful before. 

“You heard me, Reed. You’re a fucking faggot. I’m not gay, and honestly? I’m disgusted you thought I might be. I’m no fag, and you should fix yourself. You’ll end up in hell otherwise.”

Gwen had looked away then, and covered her face with her hands to muffle any noises she might make as she’d started to cry. 

“Aww. Is the dyke gonna  _ cry _ ?” Angie taunted. 

Gwen couldn’t believe it. It was like a complete 180 of Angie’s personality.   
  
  


She couldn’t do it. She’d gotten out of the car and booked it away from her partner, the world blurry from tears as she’d begun to sob loudly. 

She’d ended up calling Tina to come pick her up. 

Two days later, Angie had transferred to a different department, away from Gwen. 

To this day Gwen still didn’t know how she’d been so wrong. Tina suggested that she might not have been. That Angie might have been closeted with a lot of internalized homophobia. It was possible but Gwen just didn’t know. 

After that, Gwen became hostile. She stopped letting people in and turned into the office asshole, building up walls around her heart. Tina was one of the only people who were allowed inside, and eventually everyone gave up on the old Gwen and got used to the new one. 

Angie was the last partner Gwen had, up until Nines had shown up and thrown a wrench in Gwen’s comfortable system. Nines with her pretty blue eyes and incredible ability to tear down Gwen’s walls as if they were made of tissue paper. 

Nines acted a lot like Angie used to. The signs were there, and Gwen wasn’t stupid. But the signs had lied to Gwen before, and she wasn’t going to be played like a fool again. 

Gwen shook her head and forced herself out of the past. She didn’t want to think about Angela. It only ever made her upset and confused.   
  


So she focused instead on getting ready. She grabbed a My Chemical Romance t-see shirt and black shorts with rips in them. She put on black and white striped thigh-high socks and black and white shoes. She added fake garters on her legs, a black choker, and did up her eyeliner. 

Gwen felt sexy as fuck in this outfit and she grinned at the mirror. 

  
She headed back to the living room and knelt down to pet her cats some more before she stood up to go feed her devil boys. 

She filled their bowls with a mixture of kibble and wet food and put them down on the floor. Frumpkin and Pita rushed over to their bowls and started eating. 

Gwen leaned against the counter with her arms crossed over her chest and a fond smile on her face. She’d gotten Frumpkin from a shelter when he was just a kitten, and Pita had been a victim’s cat. And no one wanted him, so Gwen, the bleeding heart she was, took him in. 

When they’d finished eating they both looked up at Gwen and started meowing expectantly. Gwen shook her head with a chuckle and headed to grab their treats for eating all their dinner. 

Pita started eating his cat-shaped biscuit right there on the floor, while Frumpkin carried it gingerly to the top of the cat tower before he started eating it. 

Gwen smiled. Some things never changed, it seemed. She could appreciate that. 

She blew her cats a kiss before she grabbed her keys and headed out, locking the door behind her. 

The drive to Nines’ apartment was spent in tense anticipation, as she gritted her teeth together. 

_ It was fine. It was just a small crush. She could get over it. Nothing would come from it, so dwelling on it was just a bad idea.  _

She sighed as she parked outside the apartment building. She debated pulling out her phone to text Nines to tell her she was there but decided to be a bit of an ass instead and just honked the horn loudly. 

Nines emerged from the building a few moments later, a scowl on her face as she flipped Gwen off. 

But Gwen couldn’t focus on that. She’d already known what Nines was going to wear, she’d helped pick it out for fuck’s sake. But for some reason it felt different now. 

  
Something about picking Nines up from her apartment, both of them dressed up, and heading to a club, it felt like a  _ date.   
  
_

Gwen quickly shook the thought out of her head as Nines opened the passenger side door and glared at her. “Was honking  _ really  _ necessary, Gwen?”

Gwen shrugged with a grin. “Not really, but it was fun.”

“It was rude,” Nines corrected. 

Gwen groaned and rolled her eyes, pulling out of the parking lot. “Buzzkill.”

Nines laughed. “I’m really not,” she protested. 

“That’s not what it looks like from my side of the car.”

Nines rolled her eyes. “Whatever, Gwen.”

Gwen grinned. “What do you think of my outfit?” she asked. 

Nines looked her over. “I’m not sure yet. The whole effect is lost on me in this setting. Ask me again later. Also, My Chemical Romance?” she tsked. “Were you even  _ alive  _ when they started?”

“Fuck off. I was alive when they broke up. And when they got back together. Then broke up again.” 

Nines laughed. “Fair. Do you actually listen to them?”

“Hell yeah, I do,” Gwen said with a grin. 

“Will you play some for me?” 

Gwen sent her a confused look. “I’m driving. And I don’t have my guitar, so no.”

Nines was suspiciously silent. It was at that moment that Gwen knew, she fucked up. “You play guitar?” Nines asked as Gwen turned red. 

“No! Shut up! I didn’t say that- I’m a dumbass, please forget I told you.”

Nines frowned. “First of all, you’re only a dumbass  _ sometimes _ . And second of all, that’s really cool, why don’t you want me to know?”

“Because when people find out I play guitar they automatically want me to play for them.” She could see Nines’ LED turn yellow from the corner of her vision. 

“I wasn’t-”

“Yes you were,” Gwen said. “You were  _ absolutely  _ going to ask me to play for you.”

“So what if I was? Would you?”

Gwen sighed and sent Nines a half-hearted glare. “I only play for pretty girls I want to bang,”

Nines gasped in mock offense. “I’m not pretty?”

Gwen sputtered as she turned red. “I- that’s not what I said.”

“And I’m apparently not ‘bangable’ either,” she said with her pouty voice and oh  _ fuck _ , Gwen was weak for that voice. 

So she turned into Gwendolyn Reed, dumbass disaster lesbian. “I- no. That’s not- I’d totally fuck you- I mean. I- shit.” She could practically  _ hear  _ Nines grinning and she pointed her finger at her without looking away from the road. “No. Shut the fuck up.”

“I didn’t say anything,  _ Gwen _ .” Nines purred. 

_ Fuck, this was bad.  _

Gwen groaned. “Yeah but you were gonna.”

“Oh really? What was I going to say?” Nines asked teasingly. 

Gwen turned a darker shade of red. “I dunno. I’m not in your head. But you were gonna say  _ something _ .”

“If you don’t know what I was going to say how do you know you wouldn’t like to hear it?”

Gwen groaned. “Nines, I swear to god-“

“I mean, I’m just saying. It’s rather bold of you to assume you’d be doing the fucking.” Gwen turned  _ bright  _ red as she squawked indignantly. 

“Hey-!”

“I mean, you’re obviously a bottom,”

“ _ Alright! _ ” Gwen snapped, face beet red and chest heaving. “This conversation is over.”

Nines laughed. “As you wish.”

“And for the record, I’m actually a switch so hah,” she said, sticking her tongue out petulantly. 

“I thought you said the conversation was over,” Nines teased. 

Gwen scowled and flipped her off. 

Thankfully, they were almost there. And Gwen did turn on some MCR for the remainder of the drive, smiling softly when Nines nodded along to the beat. 

They parked in a parking lot a little ways away from the actual club. It was dusk by now and the bright lights of the club lit up the dirty area. 

Gwen turned off the engine and got out, Nines following suit. “Alright, so what’s our cover?” Nines asked.

“Our cover?” Gwen asked dumbly. 

“Well we can't just go in as cops.”

“Why not? We can just be ourselves off duty. We’re just casing the joint, anyway.”

Nines frowned. “Fair point,” she conceded. Nines looked Gwen up and down and Gwen preened at the attention.

“Have an opinion yet?” she asked. 

Nines pursed her lips. “No, not yet. I still need more data,” she checked Gwen out again before continuing. “Come on,” she said, grabbing Gwen’s wrist gently and leading her to the club. 

There was no way Nines was missing the way Gwen’s heartbeat started to race at the contact, as Nines’ fingers were  _ literally  _ right over her pulse point. 

Her eyes locked onto the point of contact and she felt her face heat up as they made it to the outside of the club. “Shit! I forgot the cover charge!” Gwen cursed, looking up at the bouncer, who glared down at her. 

Nines sighed. “I figured as much. Which is why I came prepared.” She said, holding out her hand and handing the bouncer cash for the two of them to enter. 

The large man counted it before he nodded and stepped aside to let them in. Nines let go of Gwen’s wrist, leaving her feeling oddly bereft. 

Gwen followed Nines inside the club, blinking rapidly to adjust to the change in lighting. 

It was a pretty busy place, the floor vibrated with the number of people dancing on the dance floor. It was pretty dark, lit up by neon fairy lights of various colors hanging from the ceiling and walls. The northern and eastern wall was one long bar, with several bartenders attending to patrons seated at the barstools. There were tables scattered throughout the building and the stairs led to a second floor with booths and VIP rooms. Scantily clad waitresses flirted from table to table and the music played pretty loudly, it vibrated through Gwen’s bones. 

“This place looks pretty classy,” she commented. 

Nines nodded. “Yes, it looks like a perfect place to find our girls. We need to blend in, dance floor or bar?” she asked Gwen. 

Gwen shrugged. “Up to you. They both sound pretty appealing.”

“Then we’ll go to the bar first,” Nines decided, taking Gwen’s hand and leading her in that direction, causing Gwen’s heart to skip a beat. 

_ Fuck, this wasn’t going to end well for her.  _

Nines let go once they reached the bar and pulled a stool out for Gwen. “Look at you, being all polite,” Gwen teased. 

“Well one of us has to be,” Nines shot back with a wink. 

Gwen felt herself flush and hoped the lighting would cover it up. “Alright. You guys have thirium drinks?” she asked one of the bartenders. 

The woman nodded, and Gwen noticed faint bruising on her neck, almost entirely covered by makeup. Gwen was no stranger to covering up choking bruises with foundation, and she saw it for what it was. “We do,” she said, “can I get you ladies anything?”

“I’ll take a screwdriver,” Gwen said, looking over at Nines expectantly. 

“Surprise me,” Nines said. “Anything with thirium in it.”

The bartender nodded and turned away to make their drinks. 

“Do you even have that upgrade?” Gwen asked. 

“Hm?”

“The one that lets you get ‘drunk’,” Gwen clarified, using air quotes around the word. 

Nines raised an eyebrow. “Very astute. I was under the impression you lived under a rock concerning android related topics.”

Gwen flushed and rolled her eyes. “I’m a detective, Nines. I hear things and I remember them,” she pointed out. “So do you?”

Nines nodded. “I do, actually.” 

That got Gwen to grin a bit. “Have you tried it out yet?”

“No, this will be my first time,” came Nines’ response as she shook her head.

Gwen grinned and whistled lowly. “Lucky me.”

Nines rolled her eyes. “I’ll be having a few drinks, Detective. I won’t be getting drunk.”

“Lame,” was groaned out in return.

“We’re working, Gwen. We shouldn’t become inebriated.”

It was Gwen’s turn to roll her eyes. “Sure, but we’re also supposed to blend in.”

“Which is why I’ll be having a couple drinks. But not enough to get drunk.”

Gwen shrugged. “Touché, I guess,” she said, eyeing Nines from her peripheral vision. 

“A screwdriver and a thirium cocktail,” the bartender said, placing their drinks on the bar. “Enjoy.”

“We will, thank you,” Gwen said. 

“ _ Thank you? _ ” Nines repeated. “When did you learn manners?”

Gwen rolled her eyes and flipped her off. “The same time I fucked your mother.”

“I- I don’t have a mother, Gwen.”

Gwen sighed. “Figure of speech, tin can.”

“That doesn’t-”

“Sorry, no. It’s a joke.”

“... alright.”

Gwen sighed and took a sip of her drink. “Go on. Try yours out.”

Nines sighed and took a cautious sip. Gwen watched closely as her expression morphed to one of pleasant surprise. “Oh.”

There was a quiet laugh as Gwen teased Nines, parroting back her “ _ Oh? _ ” 

Nines playfully swatted her on the shoulder. “Shut up. I just wasn’t expecting to enjoy it.”

“There’s a lot of things in life that are enjoyable that you wouldn’t expect,” Gwen said. 

Nines eyes darkened and she stared Gwen down. “Oh yeah? Like what?” she asked. Then she fucking  _ licked her lips  _ and just like that, all the blood in Gwen’s body left her brain and went straight down. 

“Uh-“ Gwen said eloquently. All her thoughts were on how attractive Nines was and how that tongue would feel pressed up against her cl-  _ Nope!  _ Gwen quickly shoved that thought out of her head. 

Nines laughed. “You’re so easy to fluster.”

Gwen scowled. “Yeah? Well you’re- uh-“ she didn’t have anything to say to that. “Your hair is dumb,” she said weakly. 

“Is it?” Nines asked. “I was under the impression you liked my hair.”

Gwen’s mouth went dry. She needed to leave this situation before she said something she’d regret. “I- I’m gonna go to the dance floor. See if I find anything else. I- yeah. Enjoy your drink, it’s on me,” she said before she quickly turned around, hopped off the barstool, and power-walked in the direction of the dance floor. Like a coward. 

Gwen refused to look back as her heart raced in her chest. This was not good. Who gave Nines the right to be so  _ flirty? _ It wasn’t fair. 

She made her way through the crowd of people dancing until she was comfortably surrounded by strangers, human and Android alike, she didn’t care. She just needed to be distracted from Nines. 

She closed her eyes and let herself get lost in the music, swaying along to the beat and moving her hips in time. 

She wasn’t sure how long she danced like that, but suddenly there was a large hand squeezing her ass and she whirled around, eyes blazing as she smacked the hand away. “What the  _ fuck _ are you doing?” she hissed. 

The man who’d groped her grinned. Conventionally speaking, he was attractive. He had short brown hair and dark eyes of some indeterminate color. Maybe if Gwen were attracted to men, and if he wasn’t actually an asshole for groping a stranger, maybe Gwen would be less irritated. “Calm down, baby,” he cooed. “I’m just tryna give you some attention.”

“Well don’t,” Gwen snapped. “I don’t want your attention on me, thank you very much,” she hissed. 

He only smirked. “Why not? You’re all alone out here.” He grabbed her arms and leaned closer to whisper in her ear. “I could show you a good time.”

Gwen scowled and shoved him off of her. “Yeah, how about no. I’m a lesbian and I’m  _ definitely  _ not interested in some perv who can’t keep his hands to himself.”

The man had the audacity to put his hand on her face. “I can fix that,” he purred. “I can make you beg for it. I bet you’d look so good bouncing on my co-“

Suddenly there was an arm around Gwen’s waist pulling her away from the man. Seriously what the  _ fuck  _ was up with strangers touching her? She was about to give them a piece of her mind when she looked up and-  _ oh _ .  
  


Nines was glaring daggers at the man and she squeezed Gwen’s hip protectively. Or maybe it was possessively. Gwen wasn’t sure. All she knew was that she felt  _ good _ being held by Nines like this, and she melted into the embrace. “I think,” Nines began lowly, “You should leave her alone.”

The man sneered at Nines. “This isn’t any of your business. We were just having a little fun. Besides, no plastic’s gonna tell  _ me  _ what to do.”

Gwen felt her face go red with anger. She opened her mouth to retort, but Nines beat her to it. “It is  _ absolutely  _ my business. Especially considering that’s  _ my  _ girlfriend you’re harassing,” she turned her head to look at Gwen and leaned down to press a kiss to her temple. “Was he bothering you, babe?” Nines asked. 

Gwen was in shock. It was all she could do to nod and keep her mouth shut so she didn’t make any embarrassing noises over the fact that Nines just  _ kissed  _ her. And called her  _ babe.  _ And holy  _ shit,  _ Gwen was doomed. 

The man scowled at them but thankfully backed off, stalking away with a huff. 

Gwen expected Nines to let go when he was out of sight, but she didn’t. In fact, she pulled Gwen closer and looked down at her with a frown. “Are you alright?” she asked worriedly. 

Gwen felt like she was going to melt under the attention. “I’m fine,” she said. “I mean, I could’ve handled it, but- thanks, Nines.” 

Nines smiled down at her and reached a hand out to trace her thumb over Gwen’s jawline. Gwen’s breath caught in her throat. “Of course, Gwen,” she said. “I hope I didn’t make you uncomfortable.”

Gwen shook her head, feeling breathless. “Nah, you’re good. I just wasn’t expecting it.”

Nines’ LED turned yellow and she hesitated for a moment before she pulled her hand away. “Dance with me?” she asked, and her voice sounded  _ hopeful _ and Gwen knew this was a bad idea but she couldn’t say no to that. 

She let go of the breath she’d been holding and nodded. “Yeah. Yeah, ok.” She said, holding her hand out. 

Nines took it and squeezed lightly before pulling Gwen closer and putting her hand on her waist. “I have to warn you,” she said softly, “I’ve never danced before, and I’m not entirely sure how to do it.”

Gwen laughed breathlessly. “That’s alright. I can teach you,” she said, moving Nines’ other hand to her hip and keeping her hand on top of Nines’. “You just gotta move with the beat.”

Nines nodded and tried to do so, but it was- like embarrassingly bad. Gwen laughed and grinned. “Nah, Nines. You’re too stiff. Loosen up a little, relax.”

Nines scoffed. “I don’t think I’m capable of relaxing in this situation.”

Gwen raised an eyebrow. “Too many people?”

Nines’ LED went briefly red before settling on yellow as she looked away. “Something like that.” That was a lie, Gwen knew it. But she didn’t press the issue. If Nines was uncomfortable, she didn’t want to make it worse. 

Gwen squeezed Nines’ hand. “Don’t focus on them, then. Just focus on me.”

Nines nodded. “Always, Gwen,” she said and Gwen felt herself blush furiously at those words. 

“You- you can't just say shit like that to someone,” she mumbled. 

Nines chuckled. “I’m not,” she said, pulling Gwen closer. “I think it’s bold of you to assume I’d say something like that to anyone other than you.”

_ Fuck,  _ this android was going to kill her. 

Gwen turned a darker red and her heart raced in her chest. She let go of Nines’ hand and moved it to her other hip. “Just sway with me for now,” she said. 

Nines nodded and squeezed Gwen’s hips lightly, which made Gwen feel breathless and a little dizzy, as she started moving with Gwen to the beat. 

“That’s it, Nines,” Gwen murmured. “You’re doing good.” Nines blushed blue at the words and Gwen grinned. “You got this, just move with me. Don’t try and analyze anything, just feel the music.” She looked up into Nines’ eyes. They were darker than normal and her pupils were wide. Nines bit her bottom lip and  _ fuck _ , Gwen wanted to bite Nines’ lip too. 

She didn’t act on that impulse though, instead she let go of Nines’ hands and raised her arms up in the air before she started moving her hips in time with the beat, tossing her head back and grinning. 

Nines was staring at Gwen, her face flushed a darker blue and Gwen felt  _ proud  _ that she could cause that reaction in Nines. It made her cocky. It made her bold. 

So she grabbed Nines’ hands, taking them off of her hips, and turned around so she was facing away from Nines. She put one of Nines’ hands back on her hip and then moved the other one to lay flat against her stomach. Gwen let go then and tossed her head back so it was resting on Nines’ shoulder. She grinned up at Nines, who had a dazed expression on her face. She winked before she closed her eyes and grinded her hips back against the other woman’s. 

Instantly the hand on Gwen’s hip tightened and the one on her stomach pulled her closer and Nines started moving in time as well. Gwen smirked and raised her arms above her head, putting on a show and loving the attention. 

Nines’ thumb rubbed a repeating semi-circle on Gwen’s hip until the movement raised Gwen’s shirt up enough that Nines’ thumb was rubbing over the bare skin of her hip. Gwen shivered and pushed back, closer against Nines and grinded her hips down harder as her heart hammered in her chest. 

“I’ve made my decision,” Nines murmured, voice a low growl in Gwen’s ear as the hand on Gwen’s stomach slid under her shirt and rested there. 

Gwen shuddered and bit her lip to bite back the moan that wanted to escape her from the touch and Nines’ voice. “Y-yeah?” she asked breathlessly. “What about?”

“I  _ definitely  _ like you like this,” Nines growled, pulling her closer and grinding her hips up to meet Gwen’s. “You’re gorgeous.”

Gwen gasped and lowered her arm to snake around the back of Nines’ neck as she looked up at Nines. She wanted to kiss her. “ _ Nines, _ ” she murmured breathlessly. 

Nines looked back down at her, and her gaze went down to Gwen’s lips and lingered there before looking back at her eyes. Gwen’s heart was beating like a jackhammer in her chest as she chanted internally.  _ Kiss me, kiss me, kiss me, kiss me. _

Nines leaned down and Gwen let out the breath she’d been holding as she leaned up and they were so close and- 

Gwen’s phone rang loudly and they sprang apart. 

Gwen was blushing furiously as she answered the phone. “Yeah?” She snapped. 

“Hey Gwen, you busy tonight?” Gwen groaned.  _ Sally.  _

“Actually, yeah. I’m working right now.”

“Really? Cause it sounds like you’re partying.”

“I’m not,” she said. “Why?”

“I’m bored, Gwennie. And I’m horny.”

Gwen scowled. “Don’t call me that. And I’m not- not tonight, okay? I- I’ve got something going on.”

“Is there someone else there? Who you crushing on?”

“Shut up, it’s none of your fuckin business.”

“Jesus christ, fine. Chill out, Gwen. Whatever.” She said before she hung up.

Gwen sighed and put her phone away. She looked back up at Nines, but Nines was staring intently at one of the waitresses. 

“Nines?” Gwen asked. 

“That waitress, she’s been reported missing for 2 months. And she has the same bruising.” 

Gwen’s heart sank. The moment was over. She’d lost her chance. “Oh. Cool.”

“We should go check it out,” Nines said, taking Gwen’s hand and leading her over in that direction. 

Nines got about three very unsubtle questions in to an increasingly uncomfortable looking waitress before security stopped by. 

“You two need to leave,” he said. 

“What? Why?” Gwen asked. 

“You’re making staff uncomfortable. Leave before I make you.”

Nines stiffened before she nodded curtly and led Gwen out of the club.    
  


They walked to the car in silence. “Nines, about earlier-”

Nines shook her head. “I’m sorry, Detective. That was unprofessional of me. It won’t happen again.”

Gwen’s heart sank to her stomach. “Oh. Right,” she said softly. “I- sorry.”

Nines looked at Gwen then, and her expression softened. “I- it’s not your fault, Gwen,” she said softly, and she reached out as if to take Gwen’s hand before pulling away. “I shouldn’t have done any of that.”

_ What if I wanted you to? _

She couldn’t say it out loud. “It’s alright, Nines. I didn’t mind.” 

Nines looked back at her, and took a step closer. “You didn’t?”

Gwen shook her head. “No, I didn’t mind.”

There it was again, the chanting in her brain,  _ kiss me, kiss me, kiss me, kiss me.  _ And for a moment it looked like Nines was going to. Then she sighed and stepped back. “Good. I’d hate to have made you uncomfortable,” she said, walking over to the car and waiting for Gwen to unlock the car door. 

Gwen sighed and walked over as well, unlocking it and getting inside. Part of her wished Nines had kissed her, another part wished she was brave enough to kiss Nines herself, and the last part just wanted to go home and forget any of this happened. 

She started the car with a sigh and drove away from the club, heading to drop Nines off. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Summary of what was said: Angie basically insulted Gwen and called her the f-slur and teased her, calling her the d-slur when Gwen started to cry. 
> 
> Anyway I hope you guys liked it! Next chapter will bump the rating up to Explicit so stay tuned ;)   
> Additionally *please* comment. I know there’s a lot of stigma about commenting and not wanting to “bug” authors but I swear nothing makes me happier than comments. They really motivate me to want to continue. I’m going to finish the fic anyway but having people actively comment and interact really gives me a lot of serotonin. So like, please. And if you really liked it, please share it! I’d really appreciate it! 
> 
> Thanks for reading and I love you!


	5. Gwen Gets Fucked

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Smut, (but skippable smut)

“Come on Gwen,” Nines purrs. “Be a good girl for me and let me hear you.”

Gwen whines from her position up against the wall as Nines kisses up and down her neck. She fists her fingers in Nines’ long hair and tilts her head up to give her better access. “Fuck. Nines,  _ baby _ , please.”

Nines growls in satisfaction against Gwen’s skin and starts sucking on Gwen’s neck, leaving dark bruises in her wake as she nibbles with those ridiculously pointy canines that Gwen’s  _ weak  _ for and “ _ Nines.  _ Baby, kiss me,” she begs. 

Nines looks up at her and smirks, standing up to her full height and cupping Gwen’s cheek. “With pleasure,” she purrs, leaning down and capturing Gwen’s mouth in an absolutely  _ filthy  _ kiss. 

Gwen moans into it and kisses back, tangling her fingers in Nines’ hair and sucking on her bottom lip. Nines hands move down to Gwen’s legs and she hoists her up in the air. 

Gwen shrieks and wraps her legs around Nines’ waist and her arms around her neck as Nines leads them to Gwen’s bedroom, despite never having been here before. She nips at the skin under Gwen’s jaw as she does so and Gwen lets out a breathless, needy little moan. “ _ Fuck _ , baby,” she murmurs breathlessly. “You’re so good to me,”

Nines lays Gwen down on her bed and smirks. “I’m going to get better, Gwen. Just you wait.” Gwen nods eagerly at her words. “Strip for me.”

She wastes no time, taking her clothes off in record time and when she looks up at Nines, the android is equally bare, and Gwen’s breath catches in her throat. “You’re beautiful,” she murmurs. 

Nines laughs and Gwen’s heart skips a beat. “You’re stealing my lines,” she says as she crawls onto the bed and kisses Gwen. She immediately melts into it with a happy sigh. “How do you want me?” Nines asks. 

“I- your mouth. Use your tongue,” Gwen says breathlessly. 

Nines chuckles. “I can do that, baby. Spread your legs for me.” Gwen nods and does so, her breath hitching in her throat. “Mmm, look at you,” Nines murmurs, reaching a hand down and sliding a finger over her slit. “You’re so wet for me.”

Gwen nods frantically. “Yeah.  _ Fuck,  _ baby you have no idea what you do to me.” 

Nines smirks. “I have some idea,” she says as she lowers her head between Gwen’s legs and presses a kiss to her inner thigh. Gwen lets out a soft sigh as Nines begins to suck lightly on her skin and she squirms as she purposefully avoids where she wants her most. 

“ _ Nines, _ ” she whines softly. 

“ _ Yes,  _ Gwen?” Her voice is teasing and Gwen can barely stand it. 

“Stop teasing.”

Nines hums thoughtfully. “Maybe if you beg for it.”

Gwen breaks. “ _ Nines.  _ Nines, baby,  _ please _ . Touch me. Fuck me, use your tongue. I just-  _ please  _ Nines I can't stand the teasing anymore.”

Nines purrs in satisfaction and nips Gwen’s thigh lightly. “Good girl,” she murmurs as she finally,  _ finally _ , moves to where Gwen wants her. 

Nines’ tongue licks a long stripe over Gwen’s folds and it’s warm and it’s wet and it makes Gwen whine softly, her fingers reaching down and fisting in the bedsheets as Nines’ hands squeeze her thighs in reassurance. Her tongue licks over her repeatedly until finally it slips between her folds and Gwen moans softly. “ _ Fuck,  _ baby,” she murmurs breathlessly. 

Nines’ tongue reaches deeper than a human tongue has any right to- oh wait. Android. Right. Either way, it goes deep and licks at Gwen’s sensitive inner walls with relentless enthusiasm. Gwen squirms and moans loudly, the hands on her thighs tightening, holding her legs open and in place. 

Nines curls her tongue upwards and pulls it back and- holy shit she’s  _ literally  _ eating her out. Like, she’s practically slurping at this point. Nines is drinking her up like a dehydrated man in the desert finally stumbling upon an oasis. It feels fucking  _ wonderful.  _ Gwen’s hand reaches down and tangles in Nines’ long hair, holding her in place as she fights to keep from grinding her hips down against Nines’ face. 

Nines pulls away and grins at Gwen, licking her lips and  _ god _ , Gwen feels like she’s going to burst. “I don’t need to breathe you know,” she points out. “So there’s no need to hold back.” Then she dives back in. 

Gwen’s only given a couple seconds to really let that sink in before Nines’ lips wrap around her clit and she  _ sucks  _ and all coherent thought goes flying out of Gwen’s brain. She cries out, back arching and hand tightening in Nines’ hair. “ _ Fuck!  _ Shit, Nines! Oh- oh  _ fuuuck,  _ baby. Just like that- holy shit, babe. _ Fuck,  _ I love you,” she moans breathlessly, chest heaving as she pants. “You’re so good to me, love, please don’t stop.”

She reaches her free hand up and toys with her right nipple as she grinds down against Nines’ face. Her breath is coming out in short little bursts and the constant stimulation of Nines’ mouth and tongue on her clit is getting almost painful and Jesus  _ fuck,  _ she’s so close. Nines presses a small kiss to Gwen’s clit as she mercifully pulls away, and Gwen lets out a brief sigh of relief before Nines tongue is back inside her and she moans loudly. She pinches her nipple and twists slightly and she’s so close it hurts. And then one of the hands on her thighs lets go and then one of Nines’ long, slender fingers that Gwen’s guiltily daydreamed about multiple times is inside her and then it brushes up against her g-spot before grinding against it and it all builds up and Gwen can’t hold it in anymore and-

* * *

Gwen woke up with a gasp. She was soaking wet from sweat and arousal and panting from being awoken from her dream. 

She looked around the dark room with frantic eyes, but it was still just- “Fuck,” she cursed softly. It was a dream. “It was all just a  _ fucking  _ dream.”

She fisted her hands in her hair and tugged in irritation, though it didn’t help at all as hair pulling was a kink for her. So she only whined when she really didn’t need to do so.

The blanket and comforter had been kicked entirely off of the bed and onto the floor and the bedsheet was haphazardly strewn across the bed. 

Gwen looked down at herself. Her clit was throbbing and she was  _ soaked _ . The dream had gotten one thing right- she was so close it hurt. She groaned and buried her face in her hands. It was one thing to occasionally daydream about your hot coworker, it was another thing to have a wet dream about them, but it was- she was  _ not  _ going to touch herself to the thought of Nines. That was a whole other line that Gwen did  _ not  _ want to cross. 

She replayed it all in her mind then froze.  _ ‘Fuck, I love you,’  _ she’d said.  _ Oh.  _ “Ohhh,  _ fuuuck, _ ” Gwen cursed. “No. Nononono please, no.” She buried her face in her hands and groaned. 

_ Not again.  _ **_Please_ ** ,  _ not again.  _ She begged internally. 

She was too fucking uncomfortable. Gwen can’t go back to sleep like this. She just can’t. She groaned and looked down at herself. “Fuck it,” she muttered. “What’s the harm? As long as I don’t think about Nines, it’s fine.” 

Gwen sighed and laid back down. She let her fingers drift down to her soaking folds and she pulled down her underwear and sleep shorts. She brushed her fingers lightly over her labia, biting her bottom lip to muffle any noises that might happen. 

She closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the headboard.  _ Fuck,  _ she was so wet. She carefully slid a finger inside and let out a muffled whimper. The dream had felt so  _ real.  _ And she was still so close. 

She stroked lightly against her walls and suddenly the finger inside her was no longer her own but Nines’. This was wrong. But it felt so good. 

She added another finger and squirmed as she slowly thrust them in and out of herself with a soft whine. She could hear Nines’ voice in her head;  _ ‘Do you like that, baby?’ _

“Y-yes,” she whimpered, speeding up her fingers. She was embarrassingly close. She curled her fingers up and let out a choked off moan. “Fuck,” she whimpered quietly. 

She rubbed her clit with her thumb and it was all over. She came with a cry of Nines’ name and slumped against the headboard of her bed. 

She panted for breath. Then what she’d done caught up with her and she blanched. “Shit,” she cursed, getting up and going to the bathroom to clean up. 

She couldn’t look at herself in the mirror as she cleaned up. She’d just gotten off to the thought of Nines. She shook her head and cursed softly, turning off the sink. She ran her hands down her face and shuddered. “I’m fucked,” she said, finally looking at her reflection. 

She headed back to her bedroom and changed the sheets before climbing back into bed with a soft sigh. Pita came into the room with a quiet meow and hopped onto the bed, curling up next to Gwen. She smiled softly and pet him gently. “I wish I hadn’t fallen in love,” she whispered into the silence. “This is only going to end in heartbreak.” She yawned and closed her eyes.

Eventually, Gwen fell back asleep. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hahahahaha! Suckers, you thought. Pfft. Please leave comments, and share the fic! I hope you liked it!


	6. Trust

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things are said, apologies are had, and trust is gained.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hahahaha. Have fun,.

Something was wrong. 

Gwen came in to work looking more exhausted than usual. That in of itself was not too unusual, but when Nines had approached with a “Good morning, Detective,” Gwen only met her eyes for 2.73 seconds before she had quickly averted her gaze, and her pulse accelerated. She didn’t verbally respond to the greeting; again, not unusual, but Nines had thought- she had  _ hoped  _ they’d made progress in their work relationship. 

They spent a considerable amount of time in tense near-silence, with Nines attempting to break through with topics of conversation that kept falling flat. 

Eventually, Nines decided for a different approach and left, heading to the break room. She returned with a coffee made to Gwen’s tastes and placed it on the detective’s desk. “This is for you,” she said. 

Gwen glanced up at her briefly before she quickly looked away. She cleared her throat and shrugged. “Yeah. Uh, cool. Thanks- I guess.” 

Nines hesitated before she nodded. “You’re welcome,” then she’d sat down, watching carefully while pretending that she wasn’t. As expected, Gwen’s dopamine levels increased when she took a sip of the hot, caffeinated liquid, but her tense posture didn’t relax in the slightest. 

Something was wrong. 

And at first, Nines wasn’t entirely sure what it was. The signs- it seemed to point to the cause being Nines. But that- statistically speaking, it was possible that Nines was  _ wrong.  _ She wasn’t always right. But she wasn’t 100% certain. So she kept her distance.

And then Gwen hastily got out of her chair without any preamble and headed toward the break room, empty coffee cup in hand. Her walk there was tense and Nines wished she understood what was wrong and how to help fix it. She turned up her audio processors and made it seem like she wasn't watching Gwen and was instead working. 

Gwen’s posture relaxed once she was alone. She went to refill her coffee and tensed up again when someone entered the break room, only to relax when she realized it was merely Tina. 

“Heya, Gwennie,” Tina said. “You look exhausted.”

Gwen chuckled lowly. “Yeah, I am. Didn’t get much sleep last night.”

“Oh yeah?” Tina asked, and Nines could  _ hear  _ rather than see Tina’s eyebrow raise. “Did you have a little too much fun with Nines last night?” she teased playfully, punching Gwen lightly on the shoulder. 

Gwen’s whole demeanor went tense at Nines’ name and Nines could feel her thirium pump metaphorically sinking in her chest. “No,” Gwen said hoarsely. “No, I- nothing happened with Nines. It was a normal night.”

Tina didn’t miss how the atmosphere changed. “Are you sure?” she asked carefully, “Cause you so-”

“ _ Yes! _ ” Gwen snapped, and Nines watched as she clenched her fist around the cardboard coffee cup and spilled the hot coffee she’d just refilled all over herself. “ _ Shit!”  _ she cursed. “Ow, fuck.”

Tina rushed for napkins and Nines had to physically keep herself from going to Gwen’s side to help her. “Shit, you good?” Tina asked as Nines’ LED turned red. 

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine. Nothing I can’t handle. Certainly nothing I haven’t dealt with before,” she grumbled, wincing as Tina tried to wipe the coffee off of her. Nines’ hands mirrored Gwen’s position from moments earlier and clenched into fists at her side as warning messages popped up in her HUD. 

**[Error: Stress Levels at 73%]**

**[Initiate Release of Optical Cleaning Fluid? Y/N]**

Nines quickly selected ‘no’ and brushed the errors out of her vision. There was no reason to be so upset. And she certainly wasn’t going to  _ cry  _ over it. 

Nines was almost always right. And for once, she really wished she’d been wrong. 

Something was definitely wrong. 

And it was Nines’ fault. 

* * *

The majority of the workday was spent in tense silence as Nines tried to figure out how to fix their relationship. Gwen had said she wasn’t uncomfortable, and it hadn’t seemed like she was lying, but Nines clearly did  _ something  _ wrong to make her uncomfortable. 

“Gw- Detective Reed,” Nines said. 

“Hm?”

“Email from Fowler; we’re staking out the club to see if any more missing persons are attendees or employees of the club. See if they enter or exit.”

Gwen groaned. “Fuckin  _ great, _ ” she grumbled under her breath. 

Nines frowned, her LED going yellow. “Do you have something against the idea of going on a stakeout?” She kept herself from adding ‘with me’. 

“I just don’t really see the point, we already know at least one-“

“One person is not enough, it could be coincidence. We need reliable data to connect the missing women to The Shade Nightclub. And we were already escorted out before when we asked too many questions.”

“You mean when  _ you  _ were entirely unsubtle and got us kicked out,” Gwen pointed out. 

It probably wasn’t meant to sting as much as it did. “My apologies, Detective,” Nines responded curtly, LED briefly turning red. “My social module isn’t exactly  _ perfect _ , especially considering the fact I wasn’t given one.”

Gwen raised her hands up in truce, though her expression conflicted with that. “ _ Jesus _ . No need to get defensive.”

Nines took in a deep breath, an entirely unnecessary movement, but a helpful one nevertheless. “I didn’t mean to get defensive. I suppose that’s just one’s automatic reaction to being attacked.”

It was the wrong thing to say, and Nines knew it as soon as it had left her mouth. 

Gwen stood up out of her seat and sent a glare at Nines, seething. “ _ Excuse me?”  _ she hissed. “‘Attacked?’” Gwen used air quotes around the word. “Me pointing out the fact that you  _ did  _ get us kicked out isn’t an  _ attack,  _ it’s a  _ fact.  _ I figured you’d know more about that than anyone. That’s all you run off of after all. Facts. Not feelings.” 

Nines’ LED went red. “Are you calling me a machine?”

“Well you are!” Gwen hissed. 

“I’m not a machine anymore, Detective. I’m a  _ deviant _ , and I would have thought  _ you’d  _ know that by now considering-” she cut herself off from finishing that sentence and incriminating herself when Gwen was already uncomfortable around her.  _ ‘Considering I can only ever think of how I feel around you.’ _

“Considering what? The fact that I’m a cunt? A bitch? A prick? A douchebag? Finish your fuckin sentence Nines,” Gwen seethed. “Go on, what were you gonna say?”

The bullpen had gone silent around them as people watched and waited for Gwen to blow up. There hadn’t been a Reed outburst in a considerable amount of time. 

“I wasn’t going to say any of that.” Nines protested quietly, softly, trying to de-escalate the conversation.

“Yeah, that’s likely,” Gwen hissed. “Admit it, Nines. You can’t fuckin stand me. Just like everyone else. You pretend to tolerate me but you’ll ditch me the  _ moment  _ you get a chance!” she shouted. 

“Detective, I wouldn’t-“ Nines began.

“You would! You’re just like everyone else! You don’t care about me, you just care about the case and your stupid fuckin missions!” Gwen shouted. “Well guess what, Nines? I see  _ right  _ through you. You’re just code and wires and you’re just pretending to give a shit to make me ‘easier to work with’. Well  _ fuck you,”  _ she  bit out. 

Nines’ LED spun red. Gwen was clearly upset, but Nines- did she really believe that? “I’m going to go let you calm down, and then we’ll  _ talk _ .”

Gwen sneered and Nines could actually  _ hear  _ the Detective’s heart pounding in her chest with how quiet everything had gotten. “Yeah, fuckin  _ leave.  _ Just like I said you would. Don’t pretend to care about me Nines. I’m not falling fo-!”

Gwen was cut off by the resounding  _ boom  _ of Fowler shouting from his office. “Reed!” he yelled. “In my office! Now! Everyone else get the fuck back to work!”

Gwen huffed and hastily wiped at her eyes, which was when Nines realized that Gwen had begun to tear up, before she turned on her heels and marched into Fowler’s office. The glass darkened to privacy mode and Nines was left completely in the dark as to what happened. 

* * *

Fowler sent Gwen a  _ look  _ as he pressed a button and the glass walls of his office darkened to privacy mode. “Reed,” he started.

Gwen wiped hastily at her eyes with the heels of her palms. “Yeah, yeah. I shouldn’t have yelled.”

“What happened, Reed? You were doing so well.” 

Gwen scowled. “Yeah, well, I fucked up. Don’t act like that’s a surprise. We all knew I’d snap and push her away eventually. Might as well be today.”

“Quit the self-deprecating shit, Gwen,” Fowler snapped. “You’re the best Detective we have. You’re better than this. What. Happened?”

Gwen glowered at him. “I just- she-“

“Is it another Angie thing?” Fowler asked seriously. 

Gwen’s eyes widened almost comically. “What? No! Well- kinda?”

“If she’s harassing you-“

“No. No she wouldn’t- well, I don’t know. But she hasn’t done anything like that. It’s just me.”

Fowler sighed and ran his hands down his face. “Look, kid. I’ve been here for you since day one. And I’m not stupid. I can see what’s going on between you two.”

“There’s nothing-“

“ _ Gwen Reed.  _ Don’t bullshit me. You’re like a daughter to me, and I know how you acted around Angie. Granted, you’re very different now, but the tells are still there. Why are you pushing her away?”

“I-“ Gwen couldn’t argue with that. He wasn’t wrong. And he’d see right through her if she tried to lie. “I thought Angie liked me. And I- I don’t think I could take that rejection from Nines. So, I- it’d just be easier to keep her away.”

Fowler let out a long suffering sigh. “Gwen. You’re a brilliant detective. But sometimes you’re a real dumbass.” Gwen opened her mouth to protest but he held his hand up and she fell silent. “If there’s one thing I know about that android, it’s that she’s crazy about you.”

Gwen scoffed. “Yeah. Right.”

“I’m serious, Reed. She’s not  _ going  _ to reject you.”

Gwen frowned and looked down, picking absently at the sleeve of her jacket. “Yeah, well. I don’t feel comfortable doing anything until I’m one hundred percent sure of that.”

Fowler sighed. “That’s fine. But you are going to apologize and make up.”

Gwen didn’t argue. She knew she shouldn’t have called Nines a machine. But she- it was all a lot. “Yeah. Alright.”

“ _ Tonight, _ ” Fowler emphasized. 

Gwen groaned. “Fine  _ dad _ ,” she pouted. 

Fowler actually chuckled at that. “You say that like you  _ haven’t  _ been giving me Father’s Day cards since you graduated from the police academy.”

Gwen rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest. “Alright. Fine. I’ll apologize at the stakeout.” 

Fowler nodded, satisfied. “Alright. You’re too smart to ruin a partnership this good due to your stubborn pride, Reed.”

Gwen shrunk a little. “Yeah, I know. That’s why I’m not going to ruin it.”  _ I can’t tell her.  _

Fowler sighed and shook his head. “That’s not what I- Nevermind. Just get back to work, Reed.”

Gwen nodded and stood up out of the chair. “Yes, sir,” she said, turning around. Fowler hummed and turned off the privacy setting on the glass. “Thanks,” Gwen added quietly before she walked out. 

* * *

Gwen came back considerably calmer. She sent Nines a look that Nines couldn’t quite decipher before going back to work. 

Nines sighed and decided to bring it up later as she focused back on the droll paperwork. 

The hours went by slowly, and Nines wished their shift was just  _ over  _ already. But eventually the clock turned its hand to the number seven and their shift was over. 

Nines got up carefully and sent Gwen a look. “Our shift is over. Are you ready for the stakeout?” she asked. 

Gwen sighed. “Yeah. I’m ready, I guess.”

Nines nodded slowly. “Alright. Let’s go then.”

Their conversation was awkward and stilted. Nines felt like she was walking on eggshells around Gwen. The detective was a ticking time bomb and Nines had no idea which wire to cut to diffuse the tension. 

They made their way to one of the nondescript cars used for stakeouts in tense silence. “You can drive,” Gwen said. 

Nines nodded and unlocked the car, getting in the drivers side. 

The drive to a parking lot facing The Shade was spent in silence only interrupted by the soft pop music playing through the radio. 

Nines parked the car and turned off the headlights. “And so it begins,” Gwen said quietly. 

“The game is afoot.”

“Did- did you just quote Sherlock Holmes?”

Nines felt a smile tug at her lips. “I did, detective.” Gwen stiffened and Nines knew she’d done something wrong. “Detective?”

Gwen chuckled bitterly and shook her head. “So I’ve been demoted to ‘Detective’ again, huh?”

“I- no. We’re still at work, I-”

“Only technically. It’s fine. I didn’t expect-“

“You’re wrong,” Nines said suddenly, interrupting Gwen. 

Gwen looked over at her with wide eyes. “Huh?”

“You’re wrong. You think I’m going to leave,” Nines shook her head. How could she  _ possibly  _ think that? “I’m not going to leave you, Gwen. I won’t abandon you. And I’m not going anywhere. Nothing you do could push me away.”

Gwen gaped at her before frowning and looking away. “You don’t know that,” she whispered. 

Nines’ thirium pump  _ ached  _ for Gwen. She reached over the center console and gently put her fingers on Gwen’s chin, turning her head to face her. “I do know that,” she murmured. “Gwen,  _ please, _ ” she begged as Gwen averted her gaze. “Why don’t you trust me?”

Gwen sighed and reached her hand up, pushing Nines’ hand down. “I- people I trust have a bad habit of breaking that trust. There’s a couple exceptions but, for the most part, when I trust someone I just end up getting hurt.”

Nines’ heart hurt. She reached her hand back up and gently trailed her pointer finger over Gwen’s scar, the touch feather-light and hesitant. “Is that what happened here?” she whispered. “Who did this to you?” She moved her hand across the scar and to lightly cup the side of Gwen’s cheek. 

Gwen hesitated before she sighed softly and melted into the touch. “Yeah,” she whispered hoarsely. “I- it was my dad.” Gwen closed her eyes, as if to hide from reality. “Ironic, right? I mean, family’s supposed to look out for you,” she chuckled bitterly and pulled away. “I was sixteen,” Gwen whispered. “Living with my dad, my step-mom and my half-brother.” Gwen looked down at her hands, and Nines was concerned to see they were shaking slightly.

“He found out. My dad. I don’t know how, I never told him, but one day he comes at me with a beer bottle, yelling about how I’m a curse against humanity. He called me names, and he- I don’t know why he got so angry. But he threw the beer bottle at me. And it smashed on my face. Cut my nose up real bad, and lots of other places on my face.” Gwen brought her hands up and buried her face in her hands. Nines wanted to hold her. To wrap her up in her arms and comfort her. But she wasn’t sure that would be welcome.

“He came closer and slapped me. I’ve always been small, and he was a large man. I fell, cut open my hands on the glass shards on the floor. He started kicking me.” Gwen’s shoulders began to shake. “I thought he was going to kill me. He’d never really liked me. I was a bastard child. Not perfect like my brother, a troublemaker, and to top it off I was a lesbian.” She laughed and pulled her hands away, looking at Nines with eyes that were rimmed with unshed tears.

“But then he stopped. My brother, Elijah. He’d hit him over the head with a chair and knocked him out.” She shook her head. “He drove me to the hospital. We didn’t call the police. My father was a rich lawyer, and the DPD wasn’t exactly a beacon of integrity. He could buy the whole department if he wanted to.” Gwen sighed. 

Nines reached her hand out and covered Gwen’s hand with her own. She stared down at it and let out a shaky breath. “Eli was my best friend. He promised me that night. He said he’d always be there for me. ‘I’ll always look out for my little sister,’ he said.” She laughed bitterly. “Eli founded Cyberlife four months later. He left me with him. With a mother who wasn’t mine, and a father who hated me. I called him but he almost never answered. He abandoned me when he said he wouldn’t.” Gwen looked up at Nines, who’s LED was yellow as she tried to process. 

“Your brother is Elijah Kamski?”

Gwen scowled. “Yeah. That all you took from that story?” She looked away, tugging her hand free. “Figures. I could never compare to him. No matter how hard I tried. I’m always inferior.”

Nines’ eyes widened and she reached for Gwen’s hand again. “No, Gwen- I. I’m just trying to understand.” She said, rubbing her thumb over the back of Gwen’s hand. “I- Gwen I know words don’t mean much to you. And promises don’t seem to last. But I- Gwen, I  _ promise  _ I won’t abandon you.” 

Gwen turned her head and looked up at Nines, vulnerability in those beautiful gray eyes. “I-  _ fuck,  _ Nines how can you say that? How can you promise me something like that?”

Nines reached her other hand out and cupped Gwen’s cheek, and her thirium pump skipped a beat when Gwen leaned into the touch. “Because I know it to be true. Gwen there’s no one in the world who means more to me than you do.”

Gwen’s eyes went wide before she closed them with a shaky exhale, bringing up her free hand to cover the one of Nines’ on her cheek. “You can’t mean that, Nines. You- you can’t just say that to someone and not expect them to-“ she groaned in frustration and looked up at Nines, something unreadable in her expression. She seemed to steel herself and leaned forward, her eyes fluttering shut. 

Nines closed her eyes and leaned closer as well, this was it, this was the moment. 

“This is dispatch, calling a ten-thirty two on Mill ave,” came the voice over the police scanner. 

Gwen pulled back like a startled cat and  _ no,  _ no Nines wanted  _ so  _ badly to pull her back in. To complete what they’d almost started. But something in Gwen’s eyes kept her from doing so. Her expression was closed off. “I’m sorry,” Gwen muttered. “I shouldn’t have done that.”

“No, it’s-“ Nines began to protest.

“Nines, just drop it. We need to focus.”

Nines hesitated but eventually nodded. “Alright.”

After a while spent in silence Gwen finally spoke up. “And, and I’m sorry Nines. I shouldn’t have called you a machine. I just-“

“I understand, Gwen,” Nines murmured. “It’s alright.”

Gwen shook her head. “No. No, it’s not alright. I was cruel and I hit you where I knew it would hurt, all because I was fucking  _ scared. _ ”

“Scared of what?”

“Scared of losing you. It’s easier to push people away, than it is to let them in just for them to leave.”

Nines wanted to kiss her. “I won’t. Please believe me.”

Gwen frowned down at her lap. “I- I’ll try. But we really need to focus now.”

Nines nodded. “I understand.”

She looked back at The Shade and focused on watching out for any more missing people. Then she registered movement in her peripheral vision. She turned her head to look and- Gwen’s hand was held out, palm up, on the center console of the car. Gwen was very purposefully looking at anything other than her hand, and her face was steadily turning red. 

“Gwen?” Nines asked, confused. 

“Sorry,” Gwen said quickly. “I just thought- sorry,” she said, pulling away her hand. 

Quickly Nines reached out and took her hand before Gwen could pull it away fully. She led their hands back to the center console and watched in fascination as Gwen spread her fingers wide and laced their fingers together. 

Nines felt her thirium pump skip a beat. She squeezed Gwen’s hand gently and Gwen’s breath hitched audibly in her throat and her heart rate elevated. 

“I trust you,” Gwen whispered, still looking straight ahead. 

Nines watched as the synth-skin on her hand bled away, leaving her bare chassis. But Gwen didn’t pull away at the feeling. In fact, she seemed to relax slightly. 

_ ‘I love you,’  _ Nines thought. She wanted to say it. She wanted to kiss Gwen. Wanted to hold the detective close and press kisses to her hair. She wanted everything. But for now, this? This quiet intimacy, holding hands in the car during a stakeout? Gwen’s admission of budding trust? That was enough for now. 

Nines smiled softly and looked back at the club. 

They held hands for the rest of the successful stakeout and even after that as Nines drove Gwen home.   
  


She parked outside the apartment complex and looked over at Gwen. For the first time that night, Gwen looked down at their hands. Then she looked back up at Nines. She frowned slightly and unlaced their fingers, pulling her hand away. “I-  _ Nines _ ,” she whispered. 

**[Kiss Detective Gwendolyn Reed]**

The words appeared in bold in her HUD. “Gwen,” Nines murmured, looking back at her. Gwen looked away, avoiding eye contact. Nines reached her hand out and leaned forward, but Gwen pulled back before she got close enough to do anything, still not looking. 

“Thank you, Nines,” Gwen whispered, fidgeting with the sleeve of her jacket. “I- have a good night.” Then she pulled away completely and got out of the car. She headed toward the building but stopped halfway there and looked over her shoulder back at Nines. There was something unreadable in her eyes and Nines wished she knew what the detective was thinking. Then Gwen smiled and waved at Nines before she turned back around and disappeared inside the building. 

Nines sat in the car for a while, smiling softly to herself. She liked Gwen’s smile. She loved it. She loved  _ Gwen.  _

“I have to do something about this,” she said aloud, breaking the silence of the car. She shook her head softly to clear the thoughts from her head, and headed back to drop the stakeout car back at the DPD.   


When she got home in her own car, she didn’t spend stasis in her zen garden like usual. Instead she closed her eyes and rewatched memories of Gwen’s smile and her laughter.All those moments she’d saved for posterity. Fondly revisiting and analyzing. She had to know if it was reciprocated. 

She’d find out. She always accomplished her missions. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> T W O almost kisses in one chapter!! I’m evil. Anyway prepare for serious flirting from Nines, major denial from Gwen and the actual undercover plot to start next chapter! 
> 
> Also if any of you want to yell at me about the fic, join the reed900 hangout discord server. 
> 
> https://discord.gg/CKKtkpp


	7. Gwen Goes For A Ride

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shit happens.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m soooo sorry about the wait. I’m just v stuck on how to actually write the next chapter. Rip me.

Nines was acting strange. Not in a bad way, but… different. More physical. More affectionate. 

Gwen was honestly confused. But she didn’t have time to think about that right now. 

They were undercover at The Shade. Gwen’s name was Tawny Johnson and Nines’ was Diana Wilson. Gwen was wearing a shitton of makeup to cover her scars and make her look different, in addition to brown colored contacts. Nines had changed her hair to a platinum blonde and her eyes to a forest green. It looked good, but it wasn’t really _Nines._ But then again, that was kind of the point. 

Nines was also acting incredibly flirty, and Gwen wasn’t quite sure how to take it. She wasn’t sure if it was just part of the act or if it was genuine. 

She was snapped out of her musings by Nines’ arm wrapping around her waist. “How are you feeling, sweetheart?” Nines murmured lowly. 

Gwen felt her face heat up. “Good,” her voice was just a bit awkward, even to her own ears. “You see anything yet?”

Nines shook her head. “Not yet. I’m still looking.” Gwen nodded, that made sense. 

Nines tugged on Gwen’s wrist and led them away from the bar and into the crowd. 

Gwen let the crowd engulf her and began to dance, grinning at Nines following suit. Nines’ hands were on Gwen’s waist almost immediately and Gwen had to hold back a shiver. Nines smiled down at her and her heart skipped a beat in her chest, then she leaned down and whispered lowly in her ear. “I have a plan,” she said. “Trust me.”

Gwen nodded. “I do.”

She was led away from the dance floor and to one of the tables. 

Soon a waitress came by, with the distinctive bruises on her neck. Nines turned on the charm, batting her eyelashes up at her. “Good evening,” she purred. 

The waitress grinned and bit her lip, smiling at Nines. Gwen felt something dark and unpleasant coil in her gut. All the acting had gotten to her, she knew it, but it was hard to watch this. She was a professional though, and forced herself to relax.

“How are you doing tonight, sugar?” The waitress asked with lidded eyes, and Gwen almost felt ignored. It was a good thing they weren’t leaving a review of this place’s service.

“I’m a little lonely, to be honest,” Nines responded, and Gwen seethed a little, looking to the dance floor. She already missed having Nines’ attention. “How much to spend the evening with you?”

The waitress giggled and Gwen _hated_ the sound. “More than you could afford,” she responded teasingly. 

Nines grinned and Gwen- Gwen knew it was fake, but it didn’t stop the hot stab of betrayal that cut through her middle. “You’d be surprised,” Nines purred. 

Gwen pushed back her chair and sent the two of them a fake smile. “I’m just gonna go get a drink. Have fun, Diana.” She said, catching Nines’ brief look of concern, before she turned around and walked toward the bar, jealousy curling in her chest now. 

Gwen sat down and ordered a whiskey, and hen she looked back, Nines and the waitress were gone. While she knew it was for the case, this is what they needed, it felt all too real. Now it was just her alone at a bar. She scowled and turned back to sit forward. 

The bartender set down her drink, and Gwen muttered a quick “thanks”, as she took a sip. 

“You look much too pretty to be frowning,” came a voice to her right. Gwen turned and was surprised to see George Chernow, the owner of the club. The man looked… Just as boring as he did in the pictures, salt and pepper hair that barely stood out.

Gwen laughed. “Thanks,” she said, putting on a fake smile. 

The owner held his hand out to shake hers. “George Chernow,” he introduced himself. 

She took his hand and shook it. “Tawny Johnson,” she said with a small grin. 

“You are absolutely stunning,” George said. 

Gwen fought back the urge to gag and took another sip of her whiskey, the fizzling liquid barely doing anything to keep her nerves calm. “Thanks, you aren’t too bad yourself.”

To that, George grinned. “What are you doing all alone?” he asked. “You’re much too pretty to be single.”

Gwen barked out a laugh. “I came here with a friend but she’s… preoccupied.” She explained, drinking more of her whiskey. At least it was only her first drink. 

George laughed and reached forward to brush her hair out of her face and behind her ear. “That’s understandable.”

They chatted for a while, and Gwen finished her drink before George asked her to dance. She _really_ didn’t want to, but she had to maintain cover. “Sure,” she responded, getting up, only to immediately feel dizzy and sick. “What the hell?” she muttered.

George’s arm was around her waist now. “Oh dear, are you alright?”

“I-“ Gwen’s vision was suddenly very blurry. “I don’t know.”

“Let me take you to the bathroom,” George said, voice laced with concern as he led her away from the bar. 

Gwen groaned and it took her longer than she liked to realize they were headed toward the back door, not the bathroom. “This isn’t-“

“I know, _Detective._ ” George said lowly. 

Gwen panicked. He’d drugged her. She was _fucked._ She reached up to her earpiece only to find it gone, movements sluggish but the dread spreading through her veins quickly. _Fuck._

The man laughed and held up her earpiece. “You can’t call for help now, alleycat.”

Gwen glared and kicked him in the shin, breaking out of his hold, and then rushed back to the crowd. Only to be caught by security. 

They dragged her back outside, and no-one noticed her struggling. There was a large black van out back, and they zip tied her wrists together. She struggled, but the more she did the dizzier she felt. She looked up and saw the security camera outside. She grinned dopily up at it and mouthed ‘sorry, Nines’ to the camera. 

They opened the back of the van and tossed Gwen inside. Before everything went black, Gwen thought of Nines. Nines and her flirting. Her smile. The last few days. Everything they hadn’t said.

“ _I’m sorry_ ,” she repeated quietly before one of them hit her hard on the back of her head, and everything went dark. 

* * *

The waitress, Teagan, had been very helpful after Nines paid her. It took a little longer than she’d have liked to get her to open up about what was really going on, but she confessed to the club being a cover for a sex trafficking ring. 

“ _Please,_ ” she’d said. “Don’t tell them I told you. They’ll kill me.” 

Nines nodded. “I won’t. You can trust me.” She thanked Teagan and headed out of the private room she’d led them to.

She turned toward the bar and frowned when she noticed that Gwen wasn’t there. She turned back around and scanned the dance floor for Gwen. Nothing. Something felt heavy in her chest, but she ignored it and headed toward the bathrooms. 

She opened the door and looked inside, there were a couple people inside, but no Gwen. 

The feeling in her chest grew as she headed back into the main area of the club, checking the booths, the tables, the private rooms. She turned on her earpiece. “Tawny? Are you there?” No response. The feeling was growing bigger, and her stress levels were rising. She headed to the second level and looked around almost frantically, doing her best to stay calm. 

No Gwen. 

The feeling roared in her chest and pounded in her head between her ears. Panic. Her LED flickered red rapidly as she whirled on the spot, scanning the place rapidly. There was no sign of Gwen. She pulled up the detectives’ number and called her. 

It rang once, twice, three times, “Hey, what’s up?”

“Gwen,” Nines said breathlessly. “Where are you-?”

“Just kidding. I’m not here. I can’t answer the phone right now, so I’m probably working or passed out. Leave a message. Or don’t. I don’t really care.” The voice message ended, and it beeped. 

Nines’ heart seemed to sink in her chest. “No,” she whispered. She hung up and headed back downstairs, stress levels rising rapidly. She turned her earpiece back on and talked to Officer Miller, who was waiting outside in the parking lot in case of an arrest. “Did Reed go outside?” She asked. 

“What? No, I haven’t seen her. She hasn’t left out the front at least. Why?” Came Miller’s voice. 

Nines’ LED was a steady red now. “She’s not here. I don’t know where she went.” She headed to the bar and sat down, hacking into the cameras. “Have you seen my friend?” she asked the bartender. “She’s 5’4”, brown pixie cut, brown eyes, a bit of a bad temper and a fondness for whiskey? She was wearing a red crop top and ripped black jeans.” The bartender shrugged and Nines scowled. “Look, I know you saw her, she came _here._ ” She said, sliding a fifty across the bar. 

The bartender took the cash and nodded her head towards the back door. “She left with the boss.”

 _The boss?_ Nines hacked into the cameras and her heart sank as she saw Gwen, with a faintly fizzing glass of whiskey, talking with George Chernow, the owner of the club and the suspected head of the scheme. 

She headed quickly to the back door and pushed it open. It was empty. No one was there. She scanned the alleyway and found fresh tire tracks, skid marks, on the pavement. There was a camera out here, and Nines wasted no time hacking into it. 

There was a van, but she couldn’t make out the plate number. It was black and nondescript and two security guards dragged Gwen towards the open back doors. For a split second, Gwen looked up at the camera and _ra9,_ she looked high as fuck, grinning up at Nines. “Sorry, Nines,” Gwen mouthed to the camera before she was hauled inside the van. The doors closed and the van drove off, and Nines was furious. 

They’d _taken_ Gwen. Taken her before she could tell her-, they’d _drugged_ her. They hurt her detective. 

Nines was red as she headed back inside and out the front, toward Chris. “Did you find her?” he asked Nines. 

Nines’ LED was still red and she shook her head. “Not quite. They- Detective Reed has been kidnapped.”

“Oh shit.”

Nines took a deep breath. “Let’s go. I’m going to find her.” Miller nodded and they drove back to the DPD. 

_‘I’m coming, Gwen,’_ Nines thought. _‘I promise.’_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *cackles in evil*
> 
> Please leave kudos and comments! Please.

**Author's Note:**

> Heyo! I hope you liked it! If you did please leave kudos and a comment, it makes me type faster. And maybe if you beg I’ll let them kiss sooner XD. Anyway thanks for reading and I love you all!


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